


Of Kith and Kin

by DeiliaMedlini



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst and Romance, Any-World LOZ, Betrayal, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Character Growth, Conflict, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Just covering myself with the tags so no one is surprised, Link's Brother - Freeform, Love Triangles, Marriage, No Smut, Not a Specific Link and Zelda, Not as bad as my tags make it seem, Past Infidelity, Past Relationship(s), Princess Privilege, Romance, Romantic Angst, Romantic Fluff, Romantic History, Sibling Rivalry, Siblings, Violence, Was once based on BOTW and then I got distracted and it became a different story, the king is a jerk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:54:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 54,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23942677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeiliaMedlini/pseuds/DeiliaMedlini
Summary: The coming of the Great War has brought two men back into Zelda's life that she never thought she'd see again after their tumultuous past. One is a knight, wielder of the Master Sword, a man with skills of legend; the other one... is his brother. When her life is threatened and she's sent away for her safety, trouble follows her wherever she goes: danger, death, and two men who each had a piece of her heart.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Zelda/OC
Comments: 104
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

_“Don’t fail me, Zelda. Not now. This is our time of greatest need, and the hopes of the kingdom rests with you.”_

The words of King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule clanged around in Princess Zelda’s mind as aggressively as if she'd been fighting in the midst of the Great War. They rattled her very bones, chilling her with the echoing warning, the cautionary tale of what her failure would bring. And she was quite accustomed to failure. 

In fact, she was returning to bring word of yet another failure to her eager father. And she dreaded every second of it. 

The long hallway was looming over her, stretching on for far longer than she’d ever remembered. The closed door prevented her access to her father’s council room. The guard outside the door watched her warily, like a wrong look could break her further. 

That’s how she was known to her own people. She was broken.

When the doors finally opened for her, she steeled herself and took a step inside. 

King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule was as imposing as his name. And though Zelda had been his child, she suffered from the same fear and awe that many felt when he stood before her in his royal robes and imposing presence. She kept her distance, knowing he’d react poorly when she told him the news.

“It is not done, then?” he asked, looking at her dower expression. 

“No, Father. I couldn’t awaken the power.”

King Rhoam sighed. “Your guards reported in earlier. They say that there was another attack while you were at the Temple of Time?”

“So it would seem. I wasn’t there. They never made it inside.”

“Yet, you lost another guard in the attack. Your soldiers are quite good at dying for you, Zelda, but they are not nearly as good at keeping the outsiders from finding you.”

Zelda gasped, appalled by his comment. “Father, they’re your men and women. They’re loyal Knights of Hyrule and should be treated kinder than that by you.”

The king was unaffected by her words. “You are my daughter, and you are the last hope for Hyrule. The Great War is not something that we can win alone. If those soldiers all die to protect you, that means that you’ll die because they fell, and the Kingdom of Hyrule will be lost forever. Is that something you want? You want it to fall?”

“Why would you even ask that, Father?”

“Because,” he muttered, “Sometimes, I just don’t know. The powers you have… they’ve awoken for every other spirit maiden. Your mother heard them. Have we put so much pressure on you that in your heart, you sincerely do not want to succeed?”

“That’s a horrible thing to say.”

“I know,” he said, sighing. “But there is one thing we must discuss further, and that is your safety. Though you have your ladies and your guard, I am appointing a royal Knight to your constant service. I have already chosen him and he will begin tomorrow.”

“So soon? Is he already in the castle? Who is it?”

The king hesitated. “He’s… someone you know.”

“Who?”

Rhoam smiled and motioned for her to stand beside him. She gave him a skeptical look but joined his side. When she was standing properly, as if for a ceremony, he gestured to the guards at the door. 

Walking through the entrance was a Knight dressed in his full armor, as if he were going to battle. In truth, he’d probably been called from the Garrison. It was true, she did recognize him. He bowed before her, low and deep. This man was among the finest knights in their service and could be found near her father at many ceremonies and outings. He was fast, and he was strong, especially for someone of his age. 

“Master Knight Syrril,” Zelda said with a welcoming smile, but she couldn’t maintain her facade of false comfort for long. She turned to her father. “He’s to be my Personal Knight?”

While Syrril was certainly capable, he was… how should she say… older than her father.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I am not. I’m here on behalf of my son, who is currently returning from the battles on the coast.”

Zelda’s eyes widened and she turned briefly to her father before back to Syrril. “Which of your sons are you referring to?”

“Zelda,” Rhoam chastised, but she had to know. 

There was a glint of humor in Syrril’s eyes. He knew the reputations of both of his sons. “My youngest son, Link, the wielder of the Master Sword.”

Zelda couldn’t hide the disappointment on her face. 

“Zelda!” Rhoam said, a little harsher this time. 

But this time, Syrril did laugh. “I know you’ve met him in the past but, Your Majesties, I can assure you that his childish antics are in the past and he is completely devoted to his destiny. Though all of my children are quite adept with a blade, Link is the most proficient.”

“I suppose I’ll have to take your word for all that, Master Knight.”

“Princess Zelda!” Rhoam hissed, standing up. She flinched. “You will show the Weilder of the Master Sword respect, within and without his presence. I do not care what happened in the past. You were both young, and it is all forgotten.”

“He embarrassed me, and I am still looked at like a fool because of him.”

“That is _not_ why people talk about you, Zelda,” Rhoam said coldly. His tone was so sharp that even Syrril flinched. 

Zelda shut down, bowing her head in a mix of shame and an unwillingness to incriminate herself any further. 

Syrril cleared his throat, severely uncomfortable. “I will have my son put on a demonstration of his advanced skills upon his return. Hopefully, it will ease your mind.”

“No,” Rhoam said. “Send him to the Garrison tomorrow, and we will meet him there for this demonstration. I will bring some of my soldiers. Tell your son I would like to see him demonstrate the Fourth Protocol and after that, the Twelfth.”

Syrril’s eyes widened. “The Twelfth, Sire?”

“Yes. My daughter’s soldiers have been falling to every enemy in Hyrule. I must know how strong your son’s tolerance is before I allow my daughter anywhere near him. Tell him to prepare himself, and my people will supply post-Protocol fairies and potions.”

“Yes, Sire. He will be ready. My other son is with Link and shall return tomorrow as well, and he is nearly as adept as my Link is.”

“Lorcan,” Zelda muttered, though she was still too ashamed to speak up. She couldn’t forget his name either. Lorcan and Link were both a part of the _incident_ she was not allowed to speak of in public. 

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Syrril said grimly.

“That’s well. We’ll put him through the Protocols as well. If he’s as good as you say, he should also protect my daughter as she prepares for the Great War. Do you not have more children? Another Knight of Hyrule, I thought?”

Syrril’s smile faded quickly. “Lyal passed into the arms of the Goddess at the Breach of Demise.”

Rhoam sighed. “Yes, the Breach was a tragedy for all of us. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you kindly, Sire. We miss him dearly.”

“Well, Master Knight, until tomorrow. You are dismissed. Please make haste to your sons and let them know of their trials.”

“Of course,” Syrril said, backing out slowly. 

When they were alone again, Zelda turned to her father, but he held up a hand. “Until tomorrow, daughter. Then we shall see the mettle of these Knights.”

Zelda wanted to protest, but she knew she was too late and it would result to nothing. She bowed her head before hurrying from the meeting chamber. She didn’t stop until her feet carried her back to her room and she threw her body down onto her bed. 

“My Lady!” exclaimed a young woman who’d been busy tidying Zelda’s closet. She was just slightly older than Zelda, but was still the Princess’s most faithful and trustworthy lady. Zelda would go as far as to call her a friend. 

“Fina, I need something nice for tomorrow. We’re going to the Garrison to inspect some knights.” It wasn’t worth the explanation. She didn’t want to waste her breath talking about Link or Lorcan. But there was one thing she did want to know. “Do you happen to know what the Fourth and Twelfth Protocols are?”

Fina turned, her eyes wide. “Yes, why would you ask?”

“We’re witnessing them tomorrow.”

“My Lady, the Fourth Protocol is when a single knight is left to defend themselves against a company. It is often done as a punishment, and they leave it bearing many scars to remind them of their initial failure. Occasionally, it is abandoning a post, or fleeing a battle prematurely. Other times it might be for an act of cowardice.”

“What if it’s none of those?”

Fina shook her head. “I don’t know of any other reason.”

Zelda looked out her window, watching the castle Knights train from her window. “What’s the Twelfth, then?”

Fina shifted uncomfortably and went to Zelda’s closet, beginning to pull out options the princess might wear. 

“That’s reserved only for the Elite Knights of Hyrule. It’s said that many of them practice this technique to withstand physical torture. The Knight will kneel before a commander and must withstand as many deep cuts with a knife as they can handle. Some will pass out from the blood they lose, but it can be called off at any time. Potions and fairies must always be on hand during the Protocol, or it cannot be performed. It’s a dangerous one. And it’s happening tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Zelda said, grabbing her nightgown and taking it behind her changing partition. “To Link and his brother Lorcan.”

“Oh,” Fina said hesitantly, knowing Zelda’s feelings about the Knights. “Regardless of who, it’s a terrible trial to be forced to endure. Why are they doing it to them?”

“My father is testing them. He wants Link to be my Personal Knight.”

“That’s awful.”

“I know,” Zelda agreed, stepping out and sliding under the blanket. 

Fina laughed. “I meant for Link.”

* * *

Zelda sat uncomfortably on her horse. No matter how many riding lessons the horse-master had given her over the years, Zelda knew she was born without an affinity for horses. Her own horse, Colm, had given her difficulties, but he was the only one who was willing to put up with her horrible skills. Her horse followed her father’s. Guards surrounded them on all fronts, and Fina rode beside her, steady as the born-farmer that she’d once been. 

The ride to the Garrison wasn’t long, but the trip stretched on, taunting her with the knowledge of what, or who, was about to appear in her life once again. 

Knight-Commander Tydus was waiting for them in front of the Garrison. 

“Your Majesties, welcome. Please, follow me.”

Tydus was a well-established knight, possibly the same age as Syrril, and knew the family well. Introductions weren’t needed. He led them to the parapets that overlooked the training yard. 

Zelda gasped, surprised by just how many soldiers were crammed into the area. It was a decent size, but there were far more soldiers. She vaguely recognized a few who had their helmets off. Her father had sent many of their own soldiers to the Garrisons, and last night, he’d sent some more ahead. Rhoam was nothing if not cautious and was not prepared to be attacked by anyone while he and his daughter were outside the castle walls.

Leaning against the cool stone wall, Zelda watched the Knights train with great interest. She knew that they were keeping the kingdom alive, in more ways than one. And when the foretold Great War comes to us, they’d be the first to give their lives if she couldn’t succeed.

“Zelda, don’t lean,” Rhoam chastised before pacing the parapets, inspecting every single thing below him. 

Instead of leaning, Zelda walked as far from her father as she could, instead, going to stand with Knight-Commander Tydus. 

“Princess,” he greeted fondly. “Are you prepared to see your Personal Knight in action. It’s truly the thing of legends. Link… he’s unlike any man or beast in existence. It’s a gift that truly was granted by our Goddess.”

Zelda didn’t want to talk about how he was gifted with the ability to fight like a raging god from legend. She was sick of hearing it. And the boy she’d known was not devoted enough to his trade to be as good as they’d all described.

“I can see Master Syrril just there,” she said, pointing. Their view was incredibly clear. The parapet wound in a wide spiral of ascending height so one could see the Knights from several angles. She was fairly low, and could see a warrior spit just off to the side. “Where is Link? Or Lorcan?”

Tydus looked around for a moment and pointed at a tall blonde Knight with unmistakable, ice blue eyes. His hair was matted down against his face, clinging to his skin by the sweat of his brow. And he was moving like a snake. 

“Lorcan has come far,” she said, not bothering to hide her admiration. If she could admit one thing, it was that he remained as attractive as the last time she’d seen him. And her old feelings bubbled up faster than she’d expected them to. 

“When your brother is Link, you fight a little harder. He’s second to his brother, which likely doesn’t sit well with him. His ego gets in the way of his talent. If Link were to fail at his task, you could do far worse than Lorcan as your Personal Knight.”

Zelda chuckled to herself. Well, she wished it were him instead of Link.

Tydus craned his head and motioned for her to follow him as he went further along the parapet to gain some height. “There. Link.”

She followed his gaze and saw the younger brother of Lorcan. They were remarkably similar. Both were blond with striking blue eyes and didn’t lack for a physique that screamed their profession louder than a crier. But Link was working with another Knight, training him, rather than warming up. 

King Rhoam appeared beside them. “I hear his reflexes are without comparison. Demonstrate for me. Shoot an arrow at him.”

“Father!” Zelda protested. “An arrow?”

“Calm yourself, child. There are potions nearby if something should go wrong.” He turned to the nearest archer on the wall. “Aim for his shoulder.”

Zelda felt Tydus’s hand on her arm, comforting and warning her. But she still tried. “He’s not even looking, Father.”

“Shoot.”

The archer took a breath and shot the arrow into the large crowd. 

None saw it. None but Link. 

He whipped his head around while the arrow was still a full second from him, and raised his sword up to swat it out of the way, and to cleave it in two, all in one stroke. He followed the arrow’s path and saw the King. He bowed, noticing several others mimic him. Most of the men hadn’t even noticed. 

But then Link’s eyes slid over to Zelda’s. 

She wouldn’t call it a smile, per se, but he looked at her with a familiar expression, and nodded a greeting before bowing as well. 

She watched Link push through the crowd to get to his brother, and both made their way towards the royals. Zelda watched Syrril, his eyes carefully on his sons. 

Lorcan, unlike Link, grinned broadly when he spotted the princess. She offered a weak smile in return, trying to remain indifferent, but it didn’t deter him. They made it right in front of Zelda and her father, bowing low. 

Rhoam chuckled. “It’s good to see you two again. You are both looking strong. I heard you were fighting on the coast recently, and I would appreciate the chance to sit down with both of you for your informed opinions on the situation there.”

Lorcan bowed again. “We’d both be honored, Your Majesties.”

Rhoam nodded. “Good. Are you ready for the Protocols? I look forward to seeing this legendary talent you have, Link. Please, whenever you are both ready, take your place in the field.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started out at a BOTW memories retelling and then completely went off-track to become an undefined Link/Zelda, so there are some similarities to BOTW but it's no longer a retelling of the memories, it's a new story. I wasn't even going to post it, but I figured that even though it's outside what I normally write, I'd give it a shot! Let me know what you think: good, bad, or ugly!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and Lorcan undergo the required Protocols, but Zelda isn't quite happy as her old feelings begin to resurface.

Link and Lorcan split up to cover two separate sections of the yard where neither would interfere with the other’s Protocol.

Zelda watched anxiously as several of the soldiers moved away, and the others grabbed their weapons. “This is horrible,” Zelda muttered. 

Tydus patted her arm. “These two are among the Kingdom’s elite. Their late brother also demonstrated this Protocol successfully. This family are born and bred warriors, Princess. Don’t worry.”

She crossed her arms and took a deep breath. She was standing between both brothers, able to see both Protocols clearly, if not closely. Her father was on her other side and watched the two soldiers with great interest. His warriors were known among every Kingdom as the finest there is. And this was why. 

Zelda looked away as both Link and Lorcan removed their armor and their shirts. She glanced at Tydus with a chuckle. “Indecency in front of the Princess? And my father is standing for this?”

Tydus couldn’t hide his laugh. Rhoam glanced over in annoyance before looking back to the warriors. Tydus leaned closer, more than willing to explain anything to the naturally curious Princess outside of her father's earshot. 

“It’s a part of both Protocols. We should see as much of the warrior’s skin as we can so that if they are cut, we can see them bleed. It’s as much a demonstration of their skill, to show that they are not covered in blood, as it is a safety measure. Too many injuries, and it will be called off.”

Zelda looked back. Though it most certainly wasn’t the first time she’d seen any of the Knights train without their shirts, it wasn’t a fact she wanted to flaunt in front of her father. Her window did overlook the castle training yard, after all. There were a few things she was determined her father not find out.

She knew both of them fought primarily with a sword. Link, as her future Knight, would have no choice but to demonstrate his skill there. But Lorcan chose a halberd, a long spear with an axe on the end. She watched him swing it around, testing it out and glancing at Link.

The brothers were remarkably similar. Link’s hair was longer, and he was slightly shorter than his brother, but both were imposing Knights. Little doubt could be held about whether they trained daily. And Zelda truly didn't mind admiring them.

Zelda glanced at Fina with a small, unnoticeable smirk. But Fina knew her well and smiled back. For all Zelda’s royal duties, and all these two had done in the past, she was still allowed to be attracted to whoever she wanted to be. 

Link’s eyes were on hers and she bit her lip nervously, afraid she’d been caught unabashedly staring at him when he wasn't paying attention. She glanced at Lorcan, who was also watching her. She felt her face redden. Couldn’t they look at her father or something?

Thankfully, they did when he spoke. 

“Knights, we are here to enact Protocols Four and Twelve on two of your own who may well become personal guards to my daughter. After witnessing this, and knowing the risks involved, if any of you believes you are worthy enough, you may also ask to be put through the Protocols. And be warned, this is by no means the end. My daughter, Princess Zelda of Hyrule, is the most precious in my life, and her life is worth far more than anything to me. It is also instrumental to the survival of our kingdom that she survives these wars that we face. The Great War will be upon us, and she is gifted with the Goddess’ spirit, blessed with the powers of Hylia. Until this power emerges, she is at risk. And you are the ones whom I trust most to protect her. So, take that to mind when this is over. For now, we have two who are ready to prove their loyalty and strength.”

Link and Lorcan bowed before the King and turned to their father, who now stood in between them both. He gave them both a nod, a signal of being ready, before stepping off to the side and shouting a word Zelda couldn’t hear. But at the word, the Knights aimed their weapons at the two men, and at another word, they charged. 

Zelda flinched when she heard the first clangs of metal clashing against each other. She turned to Tydus. “Is no one concerned that they could be killed by that many warriors? Or that they may accidentally harm someone?”

Tydus rested a comforting hand on Zelda’s shoulder. If anyone treated Zelda like a daughter, it was Tydus. “Do you see?” he said, pointing first to Lorcan. His weapon was more obvious. “He does not attack. He defends. This Protocol is not to show his skill in killing, and the warriors he fights only tries to land a hit, not to kill.” He pointed to Link now. “See him move? He is avoiding the blades, only deflecting them, not returning the strikes.”

“It all looks the same to me,” she admitted, leaning closer to the wall to watch more closely. 

Despite her determination to remain angry at him, she was amazed by Link's skill. Link had been little more than an overconfident, ungrateful, childish _boy_ when last she’d seen him. When he’d fought, it had been with an arrogance and confidence that came from his title, not his skill. But now, he moved like the warrior Goddess Din herself. His body moved in unnatural ways to avoid the strikes of several swords. He skidded to the ground, flipped backwards, pushed himself out of the way with little effort. His sword never stopped moving, his head and his eyes whipping around with trained precision. He was focused and determined. That was something she’d never thought she’d say about him. 

And Lorcan was much the same. He used several of the same techniques she could see Link doing, though she had to admit that he performed the feats with less grace than his younger brother. She winced when she saw one streak of blood along his ribs. It renewed his determination, and he fought harder, with the aggressiveness of a lynel. His strikes didn’t just block weapons, they threw the weapons across the field with his force. 

Link was still uncut, moving with more precision, and Lorcan continued with the single cut, wild and angry as he fought. The two were so similar, yet fought from distinctly different places within themselves. 

She didn’t know how long it took, but soon, the fighting had slowed down, and the brothers fought fewer Knights at a time until they all backed down, away from their indomitable foes. 

Link and Lorcan were breathing hard and heavy, waiting with their eyes on the King. Rhoam nodded, ending the Protocol. 

Zelda still couldn’t believe the demonstration she’d just seen. Rumors were so rarely true, but the brothers fought with terrifying skill. She certainly wouldn’t want to face them in battle, and it was no wonder their exploits were well-known. They were always in the worst of the battles with their southern neighbors who hoped to invade. They fought the worst creatures in Hyrule. They were sent across the land to fight when it was needed the most. And now, she could see why. 

Rhoam motioned for the Knights to clear an area just in front of him on the field. Link and Lorcan moved into the space, chests heaving still, and knelt down side-by-side. 

Two of the other Knight-Commanders walked out, each brandishing a sharp knife. Zelda turned to Tydus. “This is really happening? They’re going to cut them?”

Tydus hadn’t let her go, and squeezed her shoulder. “As a warrior, you must endure pain. You must also shell it out. And if you are captured, as a guardian of the most precious person in Hyrule, you’d ensure your Knights would never break under the pains of physical torture. Lorcan will go first because he was wounded. Then, they will be cut at the same time.”

“I don’t want to watch this. It's barbaric.”

“Hush,” Rhoam hissed in her direction. “You will watch. These Knights would die for you. This is the least respect you can give them.”

She knew she was making a scene. Both brother’s eyes were on her, as were the two Knight-Commanders. She hoped she didn’t look quite as panicked as she felt. 

“You can do this, Princess,” Tydus assured her. “Just breathe through it.”

“You’d think I’m the one down there,” she mused, clutching her dress tightly when her father nodded to begin. 

The Knight-Commander on the field moved to Lorcan’ side and pressed the knife deeply into the wound he’d sustained. 

Zelda felt herself let out an audible noise when the blood poured down his skin, though the only thing that betrayed any pain in his expression was a brief twitch of his eyes. When he stepped back, both Knight-Commanders proceeded on the brothers at the same time, digging the knife in deeply in the exact same spots. 

When they were both covered in dripping blood- eyes steeled in focus on the King- Zelda began to feel light headed. She’d watched her warriors train. She’d seen the occasional injury. She’d even seen the wounded return from the battlefield. But she’d never actually seen a blade pierce skin, and to see it again and again, to see the dripping of slick, deep red blood... it was making her sick. 

She could feel her breath coming faster as she looked between them both. Lorcan was the first to notice her reaction, her horror, and her absolutely white face. He shook his head, a kind gesture to imply that she shouldn't worry, barely noticeable to anyone else.

The knife went down along their neck, and this one visibly caused both brothers to flinch.

“Goddess, stop this,” Zelda whispered, feeling sweat clinging to her neck. “Tydus? When does this end?”

The Knight sighed and turned to her father, not needing to say another word. It ended when her father wanted it to.

She turned to him, grabbing his arm, pleading. “They’ve proven themselves, Father. Please call this off.”

“No.”

“I can’t watch anymore.” She moved to leave, but her father gestured to the guards, and they blocked her path. 

“I thought they angered you. Now you pity them?”

Zelda’s stomach turned, and the world was spinning, she gripped the stone wall to steady herself. “Please, Father. This is horrid.”

“They can take more.”

“I know they can. _I_ can’t!”

“No. You will be in the midst of a war, Zelda. You must learn to stomach violence. It is the only way you will survive.”

“Father…”

Rhoam turned to her, his eyes boiling at her public challenge. His eyes silenced her protest. 

She watched the knife dig deep diagonally across their chests and something in her snapped. 

“Stop! Put the knife down,” she called, leaning harshly against the parapet. The two Knight Commander’s looked from her to her raging father behind her. She watched their gaze and slammed her hands down to bring their attention back to her. “I am the Princess of Hyrule, and I said put it down.”

The Commanders did as they were told, though it was not without hesitation. 

“They are my soldiers, and I am satisfied with what I saw. Get them fairies or potions or whatever it is you do. End this, now.”

“Yes, Majesty,” the Knight said with a bow, looking from her father to her. Rhoam couldn’t contradict her now without looking the fool in front of his Knights. The Knight led the brothers inside and out of sight.

Fina ran to catch up with Zelda as she raced off the parapets and promptly collapsed to her knees over a bucket, vomiting. Fina held back Zelda’s hair and rubbed comforting circles on her back. “You’re okay, My Lady. You did well.”

Zelda felt a sob rush up from her throat and held out her hand, needing Fina’s help on her shaky feet. Fina turned to a servant and they quickly took care of the mess. 

Slowly, Zelda made her way with Fina through the next room towards the stairs when she felt Fina’s arm torn from hers. 

Zelda looked up in fright, met with the face of her father. And then a hard slap stung the side of her face, causing unwitting tears to well in her eyes. 

“You embarrassed me,” he said. She cowered back against the wall, but there was nowhere she could go to avoid him. “You questioned me in public. And you disobeyed me where others could hear. You will never do that again, not as long as I am king. Do you understand?”

“Father, I…”

She felt the back of his hand connect with her cheek again, and her only response was a quick and silent nod. 

“You will learn, Zelda. You lack discipline, and that’s likely why the Goddesses won’t bless you with their favor.”

He stormed up the stairs and Zelda felt her body slide down the wall, her hand covering her mouth to stop from sobbing aloud. Fina was by her in a second. 

But she didn’t expect that there had been other onlookers. 

Link and Lorcan were also there. 

“Princess,” Lorcan said softly. Of the two of them, she was much closer to Lorcan, and his voice had an immediate effect on her, much to her surprise, even after all these years.

Her eyes fell to both their chests, though not in any way that would have made her blush. It was horror. Horror at what she'd just had to witness. 

Both of them were mostly clean already, glistening with sweat and water, but not dripping blood or wounds. They’d cleaned the worst of it off themselves when they’d taken the fairy, though there were still faint traces. 

Link gestured to Lorcan to continue. He didn’t think she’d want to hear from him. Not to provide her comfort. 

Lorcan sat back, letting her look at his bloodless body. “There is nothing, Princess. We’re fine. I saw you go white. We’re fine.”

Her head bobbed in absent acknowledgement, but her hand went to her stinging cheek. Not only her hand, though, but Lorcan’ as well. His touch was gentle and light against her tender skin, and his thumb brushed her lip. He pulled back and she could see blood. She moved to feel it herself, wincing at the sting of her cut lip. 

Zelda glanced at Fina and wiped a rogue tear from her face. “I have to go.”

Fina grabbed her and hurried her away from there before any new prying eyes began to enter the room. She let Zelda lean against her and hurried to the Princess’ room, knowing guards would move to hover at her door soon anyway. 

She drew a fire and grabbed some nearby water, pouring it onto a cloth to clean some of the blood from Zelda’s lip. 

“That was brave, Princess.”

“It was stupid. They could have withstood longer, and I would not have acquired even more of my father’s disapproval.”

“It’s not a weakness to care, My Lady. Your people know you will protect them, and they know you are trying.”

Zelda stood up and crossed the room to stand near the door, needing space. “Do you not listen to the people? I’m worthless, in their opinion. And in my father’s.”

There was a rap on the door, and Fina hurried to open it. Zelda craned her neck to see Lorcan. She took a deep breath and stepped forward.

“Thank you, Fina. That will be all for now. I need to speak with Lorcan.”

Lorcan waited for Fina to leave before stepping inside. 

“How long has your father done that to you?”

Zelda scoffed and went to her bed, tossing the wet cloth back into the bucket. “Since he realized I can do nothing right.”

“Link and I can protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection, or your brother's. I didn’t ask for any of this Knight stuff to happen.”

Lorcan smiled and sat on her bed, far more comfortable than he should have been. She rolled her eyes. 

“You know,” he said, looking around and changing the subject for her sake, “Your room hasn’t changed much these past few years.”

“Stop it,” she said, moving past him to grab some more of her mess to throw into a corner. 

But Lorcan grabbed her waist, stopping her. 

“Do you want me to go?”

Zelda sighed and pushed his arms off of her without anger. “You left. You never even said goodbye. You and your brother were just gone one morning. ‘Where’d they go,’ I’d asked. And all I was told was that you were sent to fight. Where? I didn’t know that until stories started to reach the castle. I stayed here and moved on without even a letter from you to say sorry.”

“I was called away. We had to go fight.”

“Yes, I understand the requirements of your position,” she hissed, careful to keep her voice down, not that anyone would come inside anyway. “But I was a child. A stupid child. Didn't you think I'd have my heart broken? Thankfully, I’m not young or stupid anymore. I have a responsibility to this Kingdom.”

“You were never a child, Princess. And I have a responsibility to you.”

“I don’t love you anymore, Lorcan. I grew out of it years ago.”

“Okay,” he murmured. Seeing her expression, he actually believed her. But there was a distinct look in her eyes that said even though she didn't love him, she still wanted something. He tested her, moving into her space. She backed up with a sly grin until she was against the wall, and he leaned closer, pinning her between his arms. “I understand.”

Zelda couldn’t help the exasperated smile that spread over her lips. His low voice had whispered in her ear more than once, and it brought her a thrill she didn’t quite realize she’d missed when she heard it again. 

Lorcan pressed his lips to hers quickly, before pulling away. “I’m sorry I never said goodbye.”

“Are you staying?” she asked, feeling breathless in his presence. 

A crooked smile appeared on his lips and he leaned in, teasing her with his closeness. “Staying here in the castle, or here in your room?”

“Either,” she admitted.

She felt the weight of his lips crash against her, moving with a fierceness and desperation that she hadn’t felt in some time. Years. He always knew how to make her drown in him, and she quickly did just that. 

“Lorcan,” she said, pulling away slightly. “It’s been years since…” She rolled her eyes and tried again. “I haven’t been with…”

Lorcan silenced her with a kiss and pulled away. “We can take it slow, or we don't have to do anything at all.”

She walked over to the bed, leaving him to watch her curiously as she fiddled with something that he couldn’t see. "Let's be honest with each other. I'm not in love with you, but I still miss you. And I still... _want_ you. And from the looks of it, you might still want me, too. And we never did get to say goodbye...”

He scoffed, eyebrows raised as he drank in every move, every word. "Are you sure?"

She could hear him groan when she let her dress fall to the floor. She let him look at her, brushing her hair over her shoulder as she watched him cross the room, quickly feeling his warm fingers send chills down her skin, missing the way she knew he could make her feel... the things he could make her _forget_. 

She felt the memory of all those familiar feelings coming back to her after years apart. She’d only been sixteen when they’d first met, and nearly eighteen when he’d left. And their situation had never been a perfect one. 

He was never the one she’d been intended for… his brother was. 

The reason it struck her as so odd to see Link fight with such discipline today had been because of their time together back then. He was the new wielder of the Master Sword, and her father had wanted the saviors of Hyrule to be together and to present a united force through marriage. But Link was still reeling from his new found fame, spending more time with the other soldiers. Though they'd been close at first, he grew more distant, more reckless, more childish. As if she didn’t matter. No matter how hard she tried to fall in love with him, he never found it in him to love her back.

Looking back, she wasn’t sure she blamed him nearly as much as she thought. With her freedom locked in the hands of her father, or trapped by a marriage to a stranger, she’d gone on a bit of a wild streak herself. She snuck out, wandered the streets of Castle Town and beyond, and she’d taken a liking to exploring Hyrule Field without an escort. 

She’d found Lorcan on one of these adventures. 

He was a few years older than she was, and at the time, was far more attractive to her than his younger brother. Link was still shaking off his younger teenage years, and his behavior hadn’t helped her see him in any mature light. But Lorcan was anything but a child.

While he didn’t hold the honor of being her first kiss-- that went to Link-- he most definitely was the only one she’d ever brought to her bed. 

She’d then realized that he didn’t only fight foes aggressively, but he did other things with that much fire as well. Despite this, he’d never hurt her, nor gotten violent. It was something deep within him that he fought off, and she instinctively knew what it was. Perhaps it was why she was drawn to him; she felt it too. 

He was jealous of his brother. 

This- these stolen moments of pure, self-indulgent fun- was one thing that Link didn’t have. He couldn't take it from them. And they both relish the thought. For Lorcan, it brought the unfamiliar relief that he was not the second thought in someone’s mind. He wasn’t the second best fighter. He wasn't a second choice. And for Zelda, she had something for herself. She wasn’t being compared to Link. She wasn’t being told that he’d already done something and that she was behind him. This was hers. 

Their meetings had become the subject of gossip. And while they were right, it hurt her image unimaginably, and it became far worse after the brothers' speedy disappearance from the castle. That was something she didn’t want to go through again. 

Though it may have been minutes or hours after they'd rolled off each other, she sighed underneath his arm. 

“Lorcan. You have to go.”

He kissed the hollow of her shoulder, but she shied away. 

“You have to go. My guards might be outside so check first. This was a one time, official goodbye.”

Lorcan rolled off of her and stretched out his arms. “Fair enough. You are the Princess, after all.”

“I was the Princess years ago, too. But I have changed. I am not a rebellious teenager anymore.”

He nodded. “I understand. I'll see if I can request to be on your excursion patrols rather than the castle guard. It would likely make this incident less likely to occur a second time.”

Zelda rolled over, resting on her arm. In the past, she'd never missed the opportunity to tease him, and it came naturally still. “Well, this isn’t our second time.”

Lorcan shook his head with a wolfish grin. “Don’t tempt me, Princess. I don’t have the self-restraint my brother has. I’m going to go. For good, and with a fair warning this time.”

She watched him get dressed, and he turned for one last look at her before he left through the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things quickly take a turn for the worse as Zelda is forced to take extreme action for her safety.

Zelda rolled onto her stomach, tangled in the light sheets of her bed as the past came hurdling back to her in an all-consuming instant. 

She and Link, trying to get to know one another. Her genuinely growing feelings for him as she settled into her birthright of an arranged marriage. The betrayal and heartache she felt when word of his actions had reached her. Meeting Lorcan and being able to forget everything about herself and her situation. Feeling relief at having one person who understood her. 

Lorcan was there for her in a way and at a time when she needed him most. They'd both understood the severe consequences of being caught, and both agreed to risk it for their moment of time that slowed down to only include them. But they'd both known that this was little more than an extended tryst. There was nothing about Lorcan that the king would accept. Sure, his brother wielded the Master Sword and was chosen by the Goddesses, but that was only of benefit to Link, not to Lorcan. And once he'd left, her young heart had broken. She'd loved both brothers, in their own way. 

She saw something on the floor and bent for it. Scribbled notes, a location… it was definitely not hers. She grabbed her nearest robe and shrugged it on quickly before running to the door.

“Lorcan!” she hissed, making her way into the hall. She did a quick check to see that there were no guards outside her door. She was safe and took a few steps towards him. He turned to meet her, to see what she was holding in her hands, but his eyes darkened with lust when he took in her robe.

The sun was pouring in the window behind her, and the sheer robe exposed everything she _wasn’t_ wearing underneath, silhouetting her against the sun.

"Stop looking at me like that," she muttered with a mischievous grin as she held out the paper to him. Whether it was because she'd been descended from a Goddess who was one with nature, or if it was simply because her body was one of the precious few things Zelda felt confident in, she rarely shied away from showing her own self, whether to Lorcan, or to wearing a dress that earned her a reprimand from her father for appearing in public with too much exposed skin.

Then, a guard came into the hall, a girl shadowed by the sun stood next to him. Zelda halted, frozen with terror. If this wasn't the moment that she was caught and Lorcan would be beheaded, nothing would be. She froze in absolute fear. 

Lorcan turned to follow her gaze, but breathed a sigh of relief when the figure came into view.

“Link.”

Zelda's eyes darted to Link with a mix of relief and a different kind of fear.

He was staring at her, open-mouthed, his darkened eyes raking over her with genuine hunger. Zelda couldn’t feel enough of her body to modestly move her hands so the sun couldn’t shine through completely.

Lorcan turned back to Zelda and she blindly handed him the note he’d left behind. Link's expression worked to reclaim its dignity, steeling into an attempt at an indifferent mask as he glowered at the wall. 

Zelda turned to the second figure. “Fina,” she breathed, seeing the girl finally step out of the sun.

"My Lady," Fina gasped, looking between her and Lorcan before running into Zelda’s room to grab something that covered her better. Fina's movement was enough to give Zelda the ability to function again, and she hugged the robe closer to herself, though it did little. She didn't know if she was grateful or not that Link had turned away. She didn't bother denying her own observation that he was just as affected as Lorcan had been.

Fina returned with a long blanket and draped it over Zelda's shoulders. It stopped the light from shining through.

Lorcan turned to his brother again, noticing the deep red over his ears. He couldn't help the few steps he took back in Zelda's direction as he tried to reason out Link's stoic face. Was it shock? Was it something else?

Zelda felt her head spin and grabbed hold of Fina's arm. “You can’t say a word. My father will execute Lorcan.” She turned to Link for good measure. “You can't either. I'm not asking you, Link, I'm telling you. He'll kill _your_ brother.”

“I won’t tell, My Lady,” Fina said. And Zelda knew she could trust the girl. Through everything, she'd known about some of their past, and she knew about her emotional affections for the boys, though not her physical ones. 

Zelda's eyes darted to Link's, waiting for his answer. She stared him down, daring him to say _anything_ other than 'okay', burning a hole into him that he squirmed under. But he didn't feel safe enough to meet her eyes. Instead, he shook his head and turned safely toward Lorcan. “You know I’d rather die before saying anything that might get you killed, brother.”

Lorcan turned to Zelda. “You can trust him. Get back inside before a guard comes around. I’ll get out of your hair.”

Zelda saw Link's gaze flicker back toward her in an uncontrolled moment. She practically stumbled backwards into her room, quick to avoid Link’s fiery stare. It hadn’t been intentional, that much she could tell as she watched him fight a losing battle against a mask of composure.

She quickly slipped back into the dress she’d been wearing earlier and tied back her wild hair from her face before returning to the hall, looking and feeling far more like a Princess without anything to hide. 

Both Link and Fina had moved to wait against the far wall.

Link was staring at her again, but with a decidedly different attitude than his involuntary lusty expression. “It's been years, but... my brother? _Still_?”

“No,” she said quickly, though the evidence was clearly against her. “I mean… not really. It was just goodbye. And... wait... what do you mean ' _still'?_ ”

Link rolled his eyes, ignoring her question as his stoic knight persona began to overtake everything else about him while he looked around the hallway. “That was incredibly reckless. And how did you get rid of the guards…" he paused and swallowed, not wanting to think about how long it had been since he'd seen his brother. But no, that didn't matter. This whole situation was unsafe. That was his focus. And with his own reasoning berating him internally, the steeled composure of a knight fought against his poor judgement. "... _that whole time_?” He said the words as if they physically pained him.

“What?” she asked, genuinely confused, turning around to look for good measure. “There never were any guards out here in the first place.”

Link looked around again, his hand twitching towards the Master Sword. There it was. His entire body clicked into a posture that she'd never seen from him. Focused, hardened, and alert. This was the famed Knight she'd heard about.

“Link, what’s—”

Link took few steps to cross the distance between them and his hand went down hard over her mouth, probably too hard, he realized, softening his grip as he pulled her backwards, away from her door. His hand didn't move, and Zelda felt her body shake in unexpected fear at whatever had set Link off. Fina followed quietly behind them, though her body was angled to move in front of Zelda.

Zelda stared at her room, suddenly grateful for the hand covering her mouth. When she saw a shadow pass across the doorframe from inside, she felt herself whimper and shrink back into Link. She'd just been inside not minutes ago. Link shook her for a moment, and she turned to him, wide eyed. He let go of her mouth slowly and held a finger up, urging her to remain quiet. Then, he looked to Fina and moved Zelda lightly in her direction. Fina wrapped her arms around the Princess, and Link stood up, quietly unsheathing the Master Sword, and inching his way towards her room.

He peeked his head through the entrance, watching something that was happening, waiting to see what was going on inside before he struck.

Zelda clung to Fina like she was a shield in a barrage of arrows.

Link leaned back into the hall and glanced quickly at Zelda, holding out his hand in a calming gesture. Then, she knew why.

A man’s head poked into the hall, and Link grabbed him, throwing him to the floor with ease. He bent one knee down on his chest, pinning the man to the ground and slammed the Master Sword down through his arm, pinning him.

The man screamed and writhed in pain, but Link was unaffected. “Why are you here?” Link asked, twisting the blade against the bone when the man didn't answer. 

Zelda watched, mortified. She was covering her own mouth with her hand now, as Fina held on tighter to her.

The man stuttered, but he found his voice. “I was just hired for this. Let me go and I’ll tell you anything.”

Link nodded, pulling something out of his belt as he did. The man screamed again, and Zelda peeked forward to see Link slowly pushing a long knife through the man’s other arm, firmly holding him in place. “Or, you could tell me now. I have more of these.”

“Fine! Fine!" the man balked. "I was sent to kill Princess Zelda. I was told she’d be alone, and it would be easy.”

“How would you do it? Tell me, how would you kill the Princess?” His eyes flashed to Zelda's, empathetic, though no less sharp when he returned them to the man.

“I have a knife on the back of my belt. I was told to do whatever it takes.”

Two guards rushed into the hall and stared at the bloodied man on the ground, and Zelda cowering in the corner.

Link stood up slowly and nodded a greeting to them. “Hold him up, will you? And give me his knife.” 

The guards did as they were told, grabbing his arms while Link pulled the two pinned weapons from his flesh. They unsheathed the knife, handing it to Link as well. 

He eyed the elegant dagger for a moment before looking back at the man. Link saw him flinch when he moved the knife a hint closer towards him, and he inspected the blade further. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and touched his tongue to the steel, spitting immediately as a strong bitter taste burned the taste buds on the tip.

"So," Link said calmly, even waving the blade around recklessly. "You were going to... slit her throat? Slit her wrists to make it seem self inflicted? You have a safeguard here in case you failed to kill her. Does that make you incompetent, or smart? So did you want her poisoned, the toxin slipping into her blood, burning through her until it reached her heart?" He pressed the tip of the blade against the man's cheek, though he didn't break the skin. 

"I... I was going to see her and make my decision based on where she was. But I swear, I didn't plan this."

Link slipped the poisoned blade into his belt and patted the man's cheek once. "You know what? I like your honesty. One moment." Link slipped into the Princess' room and returned a moment later with a glass of water in his hand. It was a formal goblet that Zelda kept by her bed for any late-night thirst. Zelda saw the man’s eyes widen in a fear that mirrored her own.

His expression had Link smiling a victoriously menacing smile. “I’m feeling generous, since you told me _everything_ I needed to know. Here, quench your thirst before they take you to the dungeon. Drink it all. It’ll be some time before you get more.”

The man stuttered. “I-I appreciate your generosity Sir Knight, but I’m not thirsty.”

“I insist.”

The man turned to Zelda, his eyes pleading for help, but Link’s hand snaked around his throat and squeezed a hard breath from him, turning his chin violently away from Zelda. “You don’t get to look at her. She’s not the last face you get to see before you die. Mine will be. But you can choose how. Slow and torturous? Will you lie to me? Quick and easy? Will I just cut your throat? I could snap your neck. That might be the fastest, from my experience.”

“Please!” the man cried. “What can I do? What can I do to live?”

Link loosened his grip on the man’s throat and swirled the water around. “Who hired you and what was their price?”

The man hesitated. “I believe he used a false name. I couldn’t verify it. But still, if I tell you, he’ll kill me.”

Link nodded and shrugged, completely unfazed. “So, you can drink your own poison and die here for the next hour or so, or you can tell me, and risk potentially dying later. You’ve gotten into a fine predicament.”

“I’m not afraid of some _boy_. I’ve seen _him_ fight. I am afraid of him, not you.”

“Oh,” Link nodded. He looked at the guards. They already knew who he was, even if this man didn’t. “I _really_ like you. You’re going to earn me a pay raise on my first day. Do you see that girl on the ground? The one you just planned to kill three different ways?”

The man didn’t answer, and Link looked over at Zelda, making a motion to look away. Fina pulled Zelda against her, shielding her eyes and Zelda blocked her ears. After a beat, she realized her hands were not enough to block out the sickening scream. She let go and clung to Fina even harder.

“Can you hear me yet?” Link yelled, his voice shifting from mock friendliness to absolutely threatening in an mere instant as it bounced off the walls, causing even the guards to flinch.

The man’s voice switched from cries of pain, to cries of ascent. “Yes! Yes, I see her!” The man couldn't cease his whimpering.

Link’s voice returned to a normal volume. “Well, I’m sworn to protect her. Even if I wasn’t, you and I would be having this same conversation. But her safety is my _responsibility_ now. Did you know that?”

“No,” the man croaked out, afraid to ignore Link again.

“No, you wouldn’t. Because you don’t recognize me. And you are threatening her safety. That means that you and I are going to stand here while I cut off every piece of your body while you're alive until you talk. If you live until there’s nothing left for me to cut off, you can have some of this water. And if you die, I’ll still know enough to find this guy you believe is more frightening than me. I guarantee you, that's not the case. Because now, I’m not just protecting her from the kindness of my heart. Now, it’s also my job. So, do you want to have that heart-to-heart yet?”

“Who are you?” the man spat. In response, Link dangled the Master Sword in front of his face. Recognition fell over his features. “The Master Sword…” the man croaked out.

“That’s right.”

“You’re doing this with her right there?” he asked, feeling a rush of boldness. “You’re not protecting her, you’re scarring her.”

He glanced at Zelda. She finally felt bold enough to look up but covered her mouth with her hands immediately. The man’s ear was gone, a bloody trail of blood left in its wake.

“Princess, don’t look up yet. Fina, will you pack her things? She’s not staying here tonight.”

“Yes, Master Link,” Fina said, giving Zelda a squeeze before running into her room.

"You know," Link muttered, turning his attention back to the man. "I've heard rumors about a group who have a strong distaste for our Princess and for Hyrule. And you're sounding suspiciously like one of them to me."

Emboldened at the mention of the group she'd heard so much about who longed for her death, Zelda stood up and crossed the hall, though her footsteps tread gingerly. “Who’s trying to kill me? Is it the same person who attacked yesterday at the Temple of Time?”

Link glanced at her, surprised to see her edging closer. “Yesterday?”

“There was an attack before your arrival, yes.”

“I don’t know about yesterday; I was only hired for today!”

Link grinned. “Right, about that… who was it again?”

The man steeled himself, glancing between Link and Zelda. But Link understood his newfound resolve. He didn't think he'd take any more drastic measures with the precious princess around. And honestly, Link couldn't tell if the man was right or not. 

“Princess, do you know where Lorcan went?

“He’s trying to get reassigned.”

"Where is that? How far from this hallway?"

She stuttered, turning to Fina for help. 

"It's a floor down and left, straight down the hallway. At the first intersection is the Knight-Commander's quarters. It's where he'd handle business at this time of day."

Link glanced between Zelda, Fina, and the man. "How much do you trust Fina?”

“With my life.”

He grimaced at her choice of words. “That's not a comforting answer right now. Come here, reach into my left boot.”

Zelda made a face and stopped Fina, moving towards Link herself. She dared to look at the man, but immediately regretted it. When she bent down beside Link, he adjusted his foot, revealing a blade lodged inside his boot. She took it and turned it in her hands. She knew this blade.

He looked down saw her expression, knowing she recognized it. “Hey, go with Fina and find my brother. No one else. Stay with him until I find you. If you can’t find him in that one room, come straight back here. Don’t talk to the others. At least one guard is involved in this, and I have these two here.”

The guards went to protest, but his expression stopped them.

“Zelda,” he whispered, turning back after seeing her hesitation. His un-hesitated use of her name after all these years flipped a switch, and she was suddenly alert. “Go. You really don’t want to be here for this.”

Fina appeared with a bag over her back and grabbed Zelda, ushering her away. 

Link watched them leave and turned back to the man. “That’s taken care of. Now I can do whatever the hell I want with you. An eye, maybe? A finger? Three fingers? Maybe the tip of your nose. Oh… I know what you’ll miss the most.”

“Stop it! His name is Hersh! I swear!”

Link leaned back and let the guards hold the man. “We’ve established who I am. Do you think they let me just mosey around Hyrule for fun? Or do you think they send me to get jobs done? I can see a liar across a battlefield… and you just made a bad mistake.”

* * *

Zelda heard the screams echo down the long stairwell as she descended. Her suspicions surrounding this whole situation grew when she realized that no one was guarding the stairs either. She’d handed the knife to Fina, who- as her lady- had been trained to handle a skirmish. Fina kept it in her sleeve and followed beside Zelda as they searched the halls near the Knight-Commanders offices.

Finally, and though not _quite_ where she'd assured Link she'd wait, she spotted Lorcan's blonde hair from behind as he lazily leaned against a pillar, like he was waiting for someone.

“Lorcan!” she called.

He turned, complete surprise written all over his face, though he composed himself quickly. Looking between Zelda and Fina, his expression darkened. “You’re not here for something good, are you?”

“Someone tried to kill me. Link’s with them outside my room. He’s trying to get the name of who hired him. One of my guards is involved and we needed someone we trust.” She was breathless, and details escaped her. 

Lorcan looked behind him, making sure no one was there listening. “Okay, come on. I need to help my brother.”

“Go back? He said wait with you.”

Lorcan saw her uneasy expression and smiled gently, trying to ease her worry. “He’s still got that thick skull that stopped him from marrying you. He needs me.”

Zelda shifted uncomfortably. This wasn't her area of expertise. Even the thought of returning to the pool of blood that had formed upstairs had her reeling and nauseous. “I suppose…”

“Come on,” he insisted, grabbing her by the hand. Zelda grabbed Fina and pulled her along beside her.

They hurried with speed Zelda wasn’t sure she was capable of back towards her room. They took the steps two at a time, and Lorcan collided hard with a body.

Zelda stumbled, but she and Fina caught the railing. Looking up in fear, she saw that it was just Link.

Lorcan started to draw his sword, but let it go.

Zelda truly came a moment away from throwing up when she looked at Link. He was dripping splatters of blood… not his blood. He shot a disgusted look at his brother. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you get her out of here?”

“I figured you might need some help.”

Link looked between Lorcan and Zelda’s terrified face. He nodded. “She can’t stay here. I’m sorry, Princess. I have to get you out until we know who to trust.”

She nodded dumbly. If someone was trying to kill her, she’d wait on the moon until they were found.

Link’s eyes softened at her fear. “Lorcan, I actually do need your help. Find the King. Tell him what’s happening. Tell him that I’m taking her to Gerudo Desert where no one will look for her, but that she’ll be safe. Meet us there.”

Lorcan nodded and turned from Link to Zelda, hesitant. Making up his mind, he reached over and kissed her quickly and tenderly, not quite something she associated with him. “Be safe,” he muttered, brushing his hand through his hair before he headed back down the stairway without waiting for another word. 

Her face betrayed her surprise and confusion. She turned to Link, embarrassed at the public display. He seemed to feel it too and stared at the walls of the stairway. “We have to go.”

“Okay,” she said, grabbing a tighter hold of Fina as Link stepped around her to lead her back down the stairs.

They ducked into a nearby guest room and Link bolted the door, rummaging through the basic spare clothes that were kept in every room. “Fina, do you have a cloak in that bag?”

Zelda stepped forward, peering over her lady’s shoulder to watch. “How do you know her name?”

He turned to them quickly before pulling a few more things out. “Your father told me, and then we met on the stairwell just before… you… burst into the hall earlier. And you've said her name a few times.”

She turned to him and nodded absently, truly not remembering most of that anymore.

He unclasped his sword belt and pulled his bloody shirt off, balling it up, and shoving it under the bed.

“Link!”

He grabbed a small piece of clothing and dunked it into the water before using it as a rag to quickly wash the blood off his arms, neck, face, and even from his hair. “I can’t run around the castle covered in blood. That’s pretty suspicious. When’s your next guard change?”

Zelda turned to Fina for help.

“Another hour or so.”

“We have some time before someone spots the mess. It’ll ease your father’s mind to know you’re not in danger after he sees that disaster.”

He bent down and kicked off his boots and began to untie his trousers. Zelda was watching him, and he slowed his movements, waiting for her to turn. Any other day, he'd have taken the opportunity to tease her, no matter what had happened between them. But he just stilled his hands until she looked up, first at his chest, and finally at his face. He wanted to say something; she looked empty, and far more pale than she had during their Protocols earlier in the day. 

It took her a moment to realize that she'd even been staring, lost in the void of her own mind. "Oh, Goddess, I'm sorry." She turned toward the door and watched Fina rummage for a cloak. 

"You're safe to turn," Link hummed. 

Moving to lean against the wall for support, Zelda watched him tug on a clean shirt as well, and click his sword back into place. Sitting on the bed, he gave his boots a quick swipe with the rag and tugged them back on. 

“I didn’t think to grab a cloak,” Fina sighed in disgust with herself, shoving everything back together in disgust.

“It’s fine, I see a spare one.” He crossed the room and grabbed a long black cloak from the door, inspecting it quickly before handing it to Zelda. “Keep your hair inside the hood. It's the easiest thing to notice about you.”

Fina helped Zelda clasp the cloak around her neck. Zelda undid her ponytail, which poked out too much against the hood, and pushed her hair back, pulling the long hood up. “Where are we going? What did you find out?”

Link paused and his face turned dark. He leaned against the door and looked at her with more intensity than she’d ever seen.

“I did some stupid things in our past. I gave you reason to doubt me. But there’s something I need to know right now, before we move any further. Do you trust me? And do you trust me enough to do what I ask without question?”

“Why?” she asked.

He grinned. Well, she couldn’t go without question. This time, he’d oblige an answer. “This is your life at stake. And as much as I hate to admit it, you’re not trained to deal with this situation, but I am. This is all I do. I can get you out of here safely, and I can find who’s behind this, but it's not safe for you if you know what I’m looking for. And sometimes, I need to do things and you just need to trust that I know why. I know it’s the worst thing to ask when it’s your life at stake, but please… can you trust me now?”

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Can Fina ask you anything?”

“No,” he chuckled. “And that’s your last question. Please answer mine.”

She bit her lip. “I do trust you, Link, despite everything. I don’t know why. Perhaps the Goddesses are working their divine magic, because I don’t understand why I trust you, but I do. I don’t know if I can go without asking questions though. I need to know what’s happening.”

Link shook his head. “All or nothing, Princess.”

She ran her fingers along her face, stressed out completely. “Fine. Yes. But you owe me something someday.”

“I can do that,” he said, opening the door and peering out. “Come on.”

They made their way through the castle, avoiding patrols, sneaking around guards, and edging their way towards the Knight’s hall, the easiest and quickest exit from the castle. They knew this would be the hardest way out, but they needed speed more than anything. Time was running out until the guard change when the disaster outside her bedroom would be found.

He took a deep breath and moved Zelda and Fina behind a statue. “I’m going to go in first. Stay here and wait for me to come back. Don’t come in unless someone’s about to find you.”

He addressed Fina more than Zelda. It was a not-so-subtle way of saying _Please don’t let her inside._

Link slid through the door, leaving them behind.

“Do you really trust him?” Fina asked quickly and quietly.

“Yes,” Zelda breathed, still unsure why. It had to be because of the Goddesses. There was no other foundation of trust between them. They’d broken it years ago.

Link came back out, his face white, steeled. He shook his head and stood before Zelda.

“Remember what I said? No questions? I know I'm calling this in early, but you have to trust me right now, more than ever.”

Zelda turned to Fina, a test of her statement. “I said I do. Why?”

He shot her a look and she groaned. For the first time, Link sheathed his sword and he moved behind her, hand around her waist.

“Deep breaths when you go inside, okay?”

“Why? You’re scaring me.”

This one question, he’d oblige. “You’re not going to like what you see, but we need to move through quickly. Don’t scream. Don’t even look.”

_Scream?_ When she opened the door, she knew why his hand was around her.

She lost her footing, stumbling back into him and felt his hand cover her mouth again before she could even scream, which she most assuredly did.

Bodies.

Every Knight in the room was strewn about: dead, limp, and bloodied. There had to be at least twenty bodies. Some had swords that were caked in blood, suggesting they’d put up a fight. Others, stabbed in the back with their expressions frozen in shock.

Link let go of her mouth after her initial scream, though she was still fighting for balance as he held on to her and half dragged her through the room. He wasn’t nearly as concerned for Fina. She hadn't reacted vocally, and was maintaining a trained mask well-enough, given her position.

But Link underestimated Zelda's determination to break free as her eyes scanned the room.

Her body began to shake and went stiff all at once before she shoved off of him to throw herself onto a body across the room.

“Watch the doors,” he muttered to Fina, hurrying to follow Zelda. He had to cover her mouth again as she screamed, tears sobbing down her face. She wrenched his hand away, and Link hovered over her, keeping a watchful eye around the room, and on her.

He watched her press her hands straight into a bloody wound, trying desperately to stop the bleeding from the dead man. When that failed, she fought to pull the sword from his abdomen, grunting and sobbing through her efforts. It was stuck inside his body.

“Tydus! Get up!” she screamed again, this time, hitting the body with her arms, as if she could jolt him awake. She turned to Link, tears dripping from her chin. “Help him! Get this out of him! He can’t breathe!”

“He’s gone, and we have to go,” Link tried.

But Zelda simply tried pulling the sword out again, her hands slipping with blood.

Link stepped around her and shifted the blade, pulling it out with apparent ease before tossing it to the floor. “We _have_ to go.”

“No, no, no!” she whimpered, feeling his strong grip hoist her to her feet, pinning her to his chest with his arms. She couldn’t physically win against Link.

Fina put her hand on Link’s arm to halt him and took out the knife Zelda had her carry. She pulled Zelda’s hood down and cut off a small section at the bottom of her hair. She went back to Tydus and let it rest over his heart. “Now he can take a piece of you on his journey to the Sacred Realm.”

Zelda’s eyes drifted over the other faces, her breath hitching every time she recognized someone. “We need to bury them.”

Link shook his head quickly. “You know we can’t. And this is all the time I can allow you to grieve. I'm so sorry for your loss, but I’ll carry you out if I have to.”

"Fine," she breathed, feeling him loosen his hold on her.

Zelda pushed past him and pulled the torch from the wall, striding back to the other side of the room. She pressed her hand against Tydus once more and then began lighting every single flammable object in the room before throwing the torch in along with it.

“A warrior’s funeral,” she muttered darkly, stepping into the cool air.

Fina held on to Zelda, who was still feeling sick and dizzy as they ran, and Link motioned for them to hide as he went into the deserted stables. The fire had actually ended up being a useful distraction, and he returned with two unsaddled horses.

He turned to Fina. “Can you ride?”

She hoisted herself onto the horse he’d pushed toward her. “I grew up on a farm. Don’t worry about me.”

He pulled himself up onto the other and held out his hand for Zelda. He scooted back, letting her sit sideways in front of him in her long dress. He kept one arm around her, the other led the horse on.

“I can ride behind you,” she protested, but Link shook his head.

“You look like you’re going to pass out.”

“I might,” she admitted, feeling dizzy still.

“Who was he?” Link asked when they finally made it into Hyrule Field.

Zelda looked back at the billowing smoke. The place she’d called home, the people she’d called family, all taken from her in a matter of hours.

“You saw him with me today.”

“Knight-Commander Tydus,” Link nodded. “I know who he is. I meant, who is he to you?”

Zelda sighed, worn and tired. Her voice was cold and stiff. “He was the father I never knew I should have had. He treated me like a daughter rather than something he had to protect. And I just burnt his body.”

Link didn’t push any further conversation, and let her rest against him, though he could feel her body as tense as ever.

As he rode, Zelda finally began to come back to herself and realized where they were going. “This isn’t the way to Gerudo Desert.”

“No,” Link muttered, looking around to see if anyone was following from the castle, “it is not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't seem to find a happy chapter length yet, so they might vary in size for a bit. Like this one is pretty long, but the next one will probably be shorter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few days on the road, Link, Zelda, and Fina have a break, but it's not a peaceful one.

Fina stared longingly at the farm in the distance. It was a fair size, and she could see people mulling about, working before the sun fully set. But they couldn’t go there. At least, not until the sun went down.

Link sat closest to the cave entrance, glancing back occasionally to check where Zelda was resting. She couldn’t quite call it sleep, but she’d been overwhelmed by every emotion she’d been feeling.

Two days.

Two days ago, she’d had _everything_ but her powers. She was accepting her role in the Great War. She was reunited with someone she’d cared about.

But two days ago, it had all gone wrong.

When she closed her eyes, she saw Tydus staring back at her, eyes unblinking, unseeing. When she stayed awake, her mind strayed to the bodies. The screams from the man in her room that Link had all but tortured rang in her ears. There was no escaping it anywhere. Her body still shook with residual fear. Though assassins and soldiers had been sent after her in the past, she was rarely subject to seeing the consequences. It was usually hushed whispers and ‘get her home immediately.’

She sat up, pushing the same dress she’d worn down to cover her ankles as she curled up against the wall instead. Fina had only packed one change of clothes for her, with Fina not realizing just how bad the situation would get. After two days of tense riding to get as far from the castle as possible, Zelda realized she'd have to stick with these two outfits for a while, and they were not the most efficient for their predicament.

Zelda eyed the familiar knife that just stuck out of Link’s boot. She decided the wall was too cold. Her dress wasn’t exactly meant for warmth, and the cool stone shot shivers down her spine. Instead, she walked over to Link.

“Am I not allowed to ask questions still?”

Link stood so she wouldn’t have to look down to talk to him. “The less you know, the safer you are. There’s nothing someone could extract from you if you don’t know. They’ll likely see that you're being genuine, and it wouldn’t be nearly as dangerous as it would be if someone could tell you were lying.”

“Do you always think in such extremes? I mean, I asked you whose house that was and you refused to answer.”

He looked her over. She looked horrible, ragged, and desperate for answers. He could only answer her questions with another question. “Do you know what I do? What I _really_ do?”

“You fight.”

Link glanced at Fina, who was doing a poor job of pretending not to listen. “I fight, yes. But they don’t let me _just_ fight. I don’t go to a battle, fight, and go home until they need me again. I’m sent to fight because I am good at killing people and monsters. Then, if there isn’t a battle that they need me in, I’m sent to get information from people, or to do _things_ that you don't even want to know. Why? Because people are afraid of me. Just because of my title. But I've also given them every right to be. If they don’t talk, I make them. I do it so often that I can see the smallest twitch of someone’s mouth and spot a lie. And if they do that to _me_ … you’ve seen the result. You wouldn’t want to sit across from someone like me if you had a secret, Princess. I get sent places to kill or to hurt people. I’m not just good at it; I’m numb to it. So yes, I would rather go to extremes to keep the truth from you than tell you whose house that is. I’d rather you just listen to me when I need to focus on keeping you alive, because despite my talent for killing, I’m surprisingly good at keeping people alive as well.”

She nodded uneasily. While she could give the royal commands, she certainly wouldn’t trust herself with anything even relating to a battle, or escaping a castle, or dealing with assassins. If there was one thing she learned about being royal, it’s that you have expert advisors who will tell you what to do, and then you make the choice to follow that advice or not. Link was, in many ways, her own type of royal advisor. And she would choose to listen to him.

Link watched her closely. “Are you afraid of me now?”

“No,” she said. But the glint in Link’s eye told her that he could spot her lie with ease. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“That’s fair.”

Zelda looked out at the farm, desperate for the sun to set, for the workers to go home, and for them to sneak past it, or whatever they were going to do. “Do you have blind spots?" she asked, "Or are you really just a perfect soldier?”

His mouth twitched and he joined her in his inspection of the farm. “Of course, I do. I got my oldest brother killed because of my negligence.”

Zelda waited, but it was clear he was done with that story without prodding. “Your brother died in battle at the Breach of Demise.”

Link nodded absently. “He did. A battle that I could have stopped before it started. My one single mistake led to the deaths of Lyal and every other soldier that day. Because of _my_ mistake, there were no survivors that day. So yes, I do have blind spots.”

Zelda turned to Fina. A look of mutual understanding passed between them and Zelda felt guilty for even bringing it up. Instead she lightly kicked his boot. “So why do you still have my knife?

“Would you like it back?” he asked easily, leaning on the cold wall that didn’t seem to bother _him_ , at least.

“Of course not. It was a gift.”

Link grinned lazily and pulled the knife out, handing it to her. “My answer may surprise you, but I kept it as a reminder of you.”

She scoffed. “You’re making fun of me.”

“I’m not. I didn’t hate you, Zelda. Quite the opposite. But we were _sixteen_. I didn’t want to get married. I didn’t want to be in line for the throne. I definitely didn’t want to be forced to become a father because you’re royal and need heirs. I’d just pulled the Master Sword out, and I still wanted nothing more than to fight. It was a more innocent time. I started spending time with the other soldiers instead of with you. And as much as I liked being with you, you came with all that added pressure when all I wanted was to... well, I wanted to kill things, and drink with grown men. That’s what I knew Knights did. That's where I wanted to be. I liked you a great deal, but I got out of my situation the only way I knew how: I did something that your father wouldn’t stand for.”

Zelda crossed her arms, feeling as hurt at the memory as she had been four years ago. “Do you still talk to her?”

That got a dark laugh from Link. “No. I didn’t talk to her after that night. I didn’t talk to any of them again.”

Rolling her eyes, Zelda remembered how the people gossiped. Of everything she'd endured, that had been the hardest to handle: How the Princess’ betrothed was bedding other women. How she was impossible to love. Who could love such a failure? Was she little more than a great beauty?

“Are you sure you didn’t become an accidental father? You... got around.” Her tone was accusatory, but without menace. It was something she'd made peace with years ago. 

Snorting, Link nodded. “Yeah, I'm sure. I kept tabs on them for a while just to be safe. When I was sure, I never saw any of them after." Zelda rolled her eyes and Link leaned back, far more tense than he thought he'd be. "I never said I was proud of my behavior over that year. I just…” he eyed the knife in her hands. “I remembered you more fondly than you remembered me. Which, in the case of you and my brother, apparently worked in your favor.”

Zelda held up her hand, stopping him before he could cross a line. “I met your brother after all that started happening. After I knew what you'd been doing for... what was it... months?”

This time, Link rolled his eyes, pushing himself off the wall to stand further outside in the growing darkness. “Lorcan and I swore not to dredge up the past when we were brought back up here. And he was back in your room within hours.”

His tone was so sharp that even Fina stood up to grab Zelda by the arm.

“What business of yours is it what I do? And what do you mean _back_ in my room? That's the second comment you've made like that.”

Link took a challenging step forward. “Do you think I didn’t know just how close you two were back then? Do you think that I didn’t follow my older brother at least once when he would sneak out to see where he went? And do you think I couldn’t have stopped sleeping around if I wanted to try to earn your trust back? I considered it, because I did have some feelings for you, Princess. But I didn’t want to ruin whatever you two had because you were both happy and I did nothing but make you miserable. We were wrong for each other back then. My brother... for whatever reason... _isn't_.”

Zelda slammed the hilt of the knife into Link’s palm. “Do you think that I would have been sleeping with Lorcan if you’d so much as apologized, or even told me what you were thinking? Even at that age, I could have told you that we wouldn’t have been married for five more _years_. We still wouldn’t be! I have to turn 21 to reign without a regent, so a marriage before then would have been pointless.”

Link nodded absently, needing to erase her words to bring back his knightly composure. “This fight is four years old. It’s irrelevant. You have Lorcan, and I wouldn’t have the time even if I _wanted_ to try to win you over. I’m a little busy these days," he said, his hand absently resting on the Master Sword. He closed his eyes, breathing evenly with his head leaning back into the wall. "And now, all I really want is to get to that farm.”

* * *

About two hours later, the workers had all gone home, and the night covered their approach. Link had instructed Zelda not to take off her cloak and hood. They made their way gingerly past some storage sheds that were still a way off from the main house.

Zelda peeked through one of the windows, expecting to see weapons or food. Otherwise, she couldn’t understand why they were here. She gripped Fina’s hand without mercy as they continued on.

But then, Link stopped. He spun around with blinding speed and a loud thud.

Zelda gasped in fear, but it passed quickly.

“You’re too slow,” Link chastised as Lorcan pushed Link off him and pulled off his own hood, picking up the knife Link had made him drop.

“I didn’t realize it was you,” he said by way of an apology. He turned to Zelda. “Are you okay?”

Zelda let out a deep breath. “Not particularly. And we certainly wouldn’t be if you’d just stabbed us, thank you very much.”

Link leaned against the shed. “Why aren’t you in Gerudo Desert?”

“I sent the troops there. I passed the message to the King. Princess, you are 'officially on a pilgrimage to the sacred springs' again. He believes it might lure out your attackers.”

“Why are you here?” Link asked again.

Lorcan grinned and rustled Link’s hair. “Because I know where you go when you need help, and you need help.”

Zelda looked at Link. He looked almost sheepish. _Help_?

Link brushed past her and picked up speed to get to the house. He banged on the door to a playful tune.

Zelda watched anxiously as she heard the approaching footsteps from inside.

The door opened so the face was obscured from Zelda’s view.

“Link?” a female asked. It was clear she was looking around, because a moment later she gasped out, “Lorcan?”

Link grabbed his neck nervously. “Hi mom.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda feels like a stranger in Link and Lorcan's near-perfect home, which leaves her realizing how imperfect hers was.

Link and Lorcan’s mother did not look as Zelda had expected.

For someone who raised tall, muscular, blonde sons, she was small, petite (though not without the strength of someone who worked on a farm), and had dark brown hair wrapped up tight in a bun.

She was a chatterer, and could carry on any conversation, even one she wasn't in. The Princess' presence didn't deter her from catching up with her sons in the kitchen while she prepared dinner. It was an endless stream of happy, pleasant conversation, something Zelda had only heard happen in a crowded ballroom, but this woman managed the feat all on her own. Used to the stoic Knights, the glares of her father, and her otherwise solitary lifestyle, this was a sensory overload to Zelda. 

Fina was helping, but Zelda stood in the doorway feeling utterly useless. She didn’t know how to cook, and... how in Hyrule were they all going to fit at this tiny table? Zelda shuffled off to the side nervously when their mother grabbed something she’d been standing in front of.

“Sorry, Ma’am,” Zelda muttered, careful to keep herself small and out of the way, like the kitchens at home.

“’Ma’am?’ Princess, please call me Eilda. I won't tolerate anything but familiarity. I feel like I know you. My boys have told me much over the years. ”

“My apologies, Eilda,” Zelda said, moving again.

Eilda made a face but was hesitant to scold the Princess of Hyrule for apologizing too many times.

Instead, she turned her attention to Lorcan. “How’s your father?”

“Busy. He’s at the castle right now. He’d visit if you asked.”

“No,” she said quickly. “He’s a busy man and doesn’t need to come by. I just wanted to know if he’s been well.”

Lorcan started setting things on the table, grabbing a piece of food with his hand and shoving it into his mouth before his mother could notice. “How’s Livvy? Have you seen her?”

Eilda looked suspiciously at his mouth, and he smiled in guilt, grabbing another piece of food.

“I had a letter the other day. She’s quite well. She sends her love.”

Zelda eased her way towards Link. “Who’s Livvy?”

He turned, a surprised look on his face. “Livvy? Our sister.”

Zelda’s face fell. “Why didn’t I know you had a sister? That’s something important that neither of you ever told me.”

Link glanced at Lorcan, keeping his voice down. “I figured he’d told you. When my parents separated, my sister chose to stay with our mother. It caused a strain in the family, but when Lyal died, she really came back into our lives.”

“Where is she?”

Link grinned, one of pride. “She’s commanding a unit on your northern boarders right now. Your rivals stand no chance with her at the pass.”

Zelda chuckled. “I’m sad to have missed her, then.”

He went to cross the room but stopped himself. “She’d like you.”

“To your seats, boys!” Eilda said with a wave. She held out a chair for Zelda and pushed it in. Fina sat beside her.

“Thank you,” Zelda murmured, feeling extremely out of her element at the tight-packed table. Let alone their constant chatter, the ease that hung in the air around the family had her on edge, afraid she'd say something to break it. 

When Zelda realized that there wasn’t going to be quite as much chatter over dinner, she felt relieved. At home, she never spoke to her father while they ate. This was something she could understand and didn’t feel awkward living through. But when the meal had ended, their conversations started right back up. Even Fina was involved, laughing along at a joke while cleaning her plate in the water.

Zelda tried to follow their lead, grabbing her own fine plate and joining Fina to wash it in the water. But when she took the slippery dish back out to put it away, it slid from her hands and shattered on the floor.

Horrified, Zelda couldn’t help but stutter out a half-formed apology. Eilda hurried over to her, and Zelda instinctively flinched away, preparing herself for a a sting on her cheek to remind her not to drop things on the floor, as her father would do.

But nothing happened.

She felt Eilda’s hands over hers and looked up, seeing a look of genuine confusion on the woman’s face. “I’m not going to hit you, darling. I’m going to clean it up.”

Zelda stared at the broken pieces on the floor, hearing her father’s voice _. “You can’t even do this right. No wonder the Goddesses won’t look favorably on you.”_

Letting out a breath, Zelda bent down, her hands hovering uselessly over the pieces. “How many rupees was this? I can reimburse you as soon as I return to the castle. Did you get it in Castle Town? I can find this exact one. It was beautiful, I’m so sorry.”

“Please, don’t apologize.”

Lorcan handed his mother a cloth, but Zelda went to scoop the shattered glass in her hand. Eilda’s hand reached out to try to stop her.

“No, no!”

Zelda hissed as she began to bleed. She could see the sharp pieces sticking out of her skin, and the blood was rushing down, dripping onto the floor. In her near delirious panic over everything, she wiped at the drops of blood, cutting the same hand a second time.

Eilda grabbed her wrist with the cloth to stop the blood that was seeping down her arm.

“I’m so sorry,” Zelda tried again.

Eilda grabbed Zelda’s good hand. “Don't be sorry. Thank you for trying, darling. Lorcan and I will clean the rest. Link, take care of her hand.”

Link glanced at his brother. “Lorcan shou—”

But his mother’s gaze shushed him. “She’s your charge and you let her get hurt. Go clean the glass.”

Offering Zelda his hand, Link helped her off the floor and led her into the next room. He motioned for her to sit in the chair while he headed back into the kitchen. A moment later, he returned with water, a bucket, some cloth, and a needle. Bending by the fire, he sterilized the tip of the needle and knelt in front of Zelda, holding her hand over the empty bucket.

Zelda watched him curiously as he let some water fall onto her bloody hand, stinging her palm sharply.

“Is this something you were taught?” Zelda asked as he held her hand still and pulled out the largest glass shards with his fingers, tossing it into the bucket as well.

“Was I taught what? The needle thing? We keep it stuck in the wall when we aren’t using it, so it’s always best to just sterilize it first.”

“No, all of it. I wouldn’t naturally think to first rinse the blood off. If there’s going to be more, what’s the point? And yes, before you even think of a comment, I knew glass was sharp, but I didn’t realize that quite so much of it would get stuck in my skin.”

Link looked up at her questioningly. “Never dropped a glass before?”

Zelda rolled her eyes. _That_ was ridiculous. “Never cleaned it up. I live in a castle, Link. If I were to try to clean a mess, especially in public with guests and people watching me, it’s considered ‘unbecoming behavior of a princess.’”

Link grinned, though he didn’t stop pulling out the small shards that his fingers were still able to grab. Goddess, it was like half the glass had gotten stuck in her skin.

“And you wonder why I didn’t want to marry you. Who wants to be with someone who cleans up their own mess? Disgusting.”

Zelda chuckled and meticulously pulled out one of the small shards with her nails.

Link looked up at her eyes quickly, then back to her hand. “In the future, should you ever be forced into such a demeaning situation again, you don’t grab it like you’re rooting a weed, and you certainty don’t put pressure on all those little pieces.”

Zelda gave him a dry look. “If I’ve never picked up glass, what makes you think I know what gesture you’re implying by ‘rooting a weed?’”

That earned a rare, genuine laugh from Link. Zelda smiled just hearing it. Even with his family, it had been stiff and restrained. But when he truly laughed, it was brief, quiet even, but his eyes would narrow and his smile would spread across his face, reaching his eyes.

He wrapped his fingers around her good wrist and waved her arm gently in a show of his own grip on her. “You don’t just grab it like this. You need a cloth.”

Squinting at her cut hand, he looked up at her with apologetic eyes. “This will hurt a little bit, but you’ll feel much better when it’s all out.”

She bit her lip and nodded. Link gently- but firmly- held her wrist steady, already feeling her trying to instinctively flinch away from the coming pain. He took the needle and held it up so she could see what he was doing, then he quickly stuck it into her skin and angled it to push out the small, dug-in shard.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Zelda chanted, hissing in pain as he did it again.

“Don’t clench your fingers. I can’t see.”

“I can’t help it if you’re bad at this,” she said, maintaining as much of her haughty dignity as she could.

He offered her a small smile. “Your hands are too soft,” he said, running his thumb across her palm, as if to demonstrate before maintaining his grip on her wrist. “You feel everything. Get some callouses.”

“How’s it going?” Eilda asked, popping her head into the room.

“She’s the worst patient.”

“Terrible.”

Both spoke over the other and heard Eilda’s low chuckle before she lightly held up her hands and returned to the kitchen.

Link tucked the needle into his palm and traced his finger across Zelda’s hand, feeling for more glass. She winced once.

He could feel his own shoulders tense when heavy footsteps entered the room.

“Need help?”

“Nope, almost done,” Link muttered, ignoring his brother’s obnoxious hovering as best he could.

Link took advantage of Lorcan’s presence as a distraction to dig out the last shard. Zelda winced, letting out a soft squeak as he needed to dig the needle further in than before.

“Sorry,” he muttered, holding her twitching hand steady.

When the glass was out, Link stood quickly to create some distance. Lorcan was hovering far too possessively for his taste.

“You’re all set. Just wash that blood off and wrap it. I’ll clean this up.”

“Wrap it like…any special way?” she asked, staring at the cloth. She’d always had fine bandages that clung to the skin and to the rest of the fabric, but never a strip of torn cloth. Another thing she’d have to replace for them. And another thing she felt completely incompetent at. 

“Like…” Link made a motion around his own hand and then mimed tying it.

But Lorcan held up his hand. “I’ll do it.”

“No,” Eilda said, walking in. “I’ll do it. You’re stressing the poor girl out. Go… check on the cows.”

Lorcan scoffed. “Just look in and see how their night is?”

Eilda nodded once. “And ask them if they liked their dinner. Just shoo.”

When she took Link’s spot in front of Zelda, she smiled. “How are you doing, love?”

Zelda’s lips twitched up at the new pet name and saw Fina hovering in the doorway, keeping an eye on her. Zelda couldn’t see anything on the floor of the kitchen. “Better. I’m so sorry for breaking—”

“Stop. You must stop apologizing. I don’t care about the plate one bit. I care that it’s upset you so.”

The ghost of a smile reached Zelda’s lips. “I suppose I’m nervous being here. It’s not what I’m used to.”

“What are your meals like at home, then?”

Thinking about it, Zelda shrugged absently as Eilda wiped away the rest of the blood on her hand. “Quiet, usually. My father sits on the end of the table and I’m beside him. We rarely talk while we eat, so sometimes I can hear the stories the servants are passing in the hallways. When my father isn’t around or doesn’t want to join, I often sneak Fina in for some company.” Smiling at her lady, Zelda continued. “Occasionally, I can get a Knight Commander to join me if my father’s busy. Tydus would always join, no matter how busy he was. He’d tell me stories and…” she trailed off, realizing that there were tears leaking from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t even be bothering you.”

Eilda took her good hand and squeezed. “You’re apologizing again. Don’t. I was born with two good ears, and I’m a mother. It means I’ve become a very good listener.”

Zelda sniffed and tried to smile. “I wouldn’t know. I never had one. I’m sure you remember her death. I don’t think I have a single memory from those few months I had with her. I was raised by an ever-changing lineup of nursemaids. I had one who was my favorite, Impa. She would play with me, read to me, take me outside. But my father sent her home and brought someone in who would make sure I was praying more, beseeching Nayru for her wisdom as I prepared for my role in the Great War _years_ down the line. Perhaps he's the reason I've failed to attain the Goddess' favor.”

“Oh, child,” Eilda said, leaning in for a hug.

Zelda flinched back again before realizing that she was merely about to comfort her. 

Zelda hesitated, knowing that there was a possibility of Eilda's sons could revealing to her what they’d seen from her father after their Protocols. “I should not speak ill of the king. And if your sons claim to have seen anything happen when after their Protocols when you inevitably ask them, you should not believe the lie that they witnessed anything short of my father's compassion for the people of Hyrule.”

“I understand,” she said uneasily grasping the gist of her meaning, nodding as she tied the cloth around Zelda’s hand.

Zelda felt tired… so mentally exhausted. “I can’t do anything to please him. First, I'm defective and can't gain access to my powers. Then I have probably ruined his week by hiding out under the guise of some story about prayer. Now, I’m putting you and your sons at risk. We shouldn’t be here. We shouldn’t risk putting you in danger when you’ve been nothing but kind to me. We need to go.”

“No, no!” she said, gently placing her hand on Zelda’s leg to calm her. “I’ve spoken to my sons. You’re staying here. Be calm; nothing will happen to us.”

Zelda grabbed her head in her hands. “I just want to go home. I want to be in my room and feel safe. I even want to wander around Hyrule trying to unlock my powers. I just don’t want to feel that there’s someone over my shoulder at every second waiting to slit my throat. I want to go home.”

Eilda glanced over to Fina in the doorway, seeing that her sons had both returned. She motioned for them to stop watching. Link walked down the hall and closed the door to his room, while Lorcan took a few steps into the hallway with Fina. Eilda turned back to Zelda.

“We’ll get you home, sweet one. While I cannot promise you it will be tomorrow, I can promise you that it will happen. My boys won’t stop. Their father is at the castle, working to figure it out. I will do everything I can. If my daughter returns home, she’d help. We will not leave you alone in this. But tonight, it’s late, and perhaps you should try to get some sleep.”

Lorcan moved back into the doorway. “You can stay in my room.”

Zelda started to nod, but then cleared her throat. “I couldn’t impose or take your room from you.”

Lorcan smiled uneasily, his cheeks betraying faint embarrassment as he glanced toward his mother. “She… _knows_ … about our past.”

Zelda’s eyes widened, groaning with her own rush of embarrassment. She turned to Eilda with a small head-bow of appreciation at her discretion and hospitality, though she could no longer meet the woman’s eyes. “Thank you for your kindness. I’ll leave you be. But Fina…”

Eilda stood, leading Fina forward around the corner and gestured to the stairs. “My daughter’s room is just beside mine. You may take it.”

“Thank you,” Fina said with a bow, looking to Zelda for approval.

Zelda nodded with a smile, and Fina trudged up the stairs, her body finally betraying her exhaustion.

Lorcan motioned for Zelda to follow him, Eilda taking one last glance at them before heading up the stairs herself.

He pushed the door to his room open and Zelda looked around, admiring the quaint feeling it had. Though there wasn’t much in the way of personal items, the room was cozy and prepared for his arrival at any time.

“Link said your sister was the only one who lived here with your mother, but you have a room?”

“She moved out here after living in town a bit longer,” he said, rifling through his things. “When she built this house, she always knew my brothers and I chose to live with our father to remain Knights, not out of any lack of love for her. My sister was too angry to understand that and refused to use my father’s influence to continue her training without him. But my mother still built rooms for each of us to come back to. Link’s,” he said, motioning with his head towards the wall, “And Lyal,” he said, gesturing to the other wall.

He handed her one of his shirts to sleep in and leaned back, watching as she inspected his room further. “What did you and my mother talk about?”

Her eyes darkened and she turned to him, closing the distance between them with only a few steps. “I don’t want to talk about that. In fact, I just need to escape this hell I’ve been cast into. I don’t feel safe. I can’t breathe! And I need your help.”

“I’m not helping you escape my mother’s farm,” Lorcan laughed, though he had the feeling that wasn’t what she meant.

She grabbed onto his shirt. “If you’re not unwilling… will you help me to forget the rest of the world?”

He gently pushed her hand off him. “You said last time was it. I know you. You meant it.”

“That was before there was a killer in my room, people I considered family were murdered, and I was forced to run from my home. Tonight, I don’t care about being a responsible princess. Can you handle that? That for tonight, that’s what I need?”

Lorcan grabbed her in response, pulling her against him before pinning her to the wall, ravishing her with kisses. It was only when Zelda pulled off his shirt that she froze and glanced at the wall behind her.

“You said that’s Link’s room. Should we go somewhere else?”

Lorcan glanced between her and the wall, glaring at it like it had done something wrong. Returning to her with a firm kiss, his hands trailed to the laces on her dress. She stopped him with a pointed look at the wall again.

Lorcan scoffed. “Don’t worry. He never came back inside. He went on patrol to check the area. We’ll be fine.”

“He’s on patrol?”

Lorcan grinned, capturing her lips in his. “Yes… he left you in my very capable hands.”

* * *

Zelda sat up slowly, something keeping her from a peaceful sleep, and grabbed her dress from off the floor, pulling it on before hurrying out the door to take in some much needed air. She stood there for some time, feeling the peaceful silence, until a noise ripped through it. An arrow flew past her face… waking her up.

She sat up in bed. A nightmare. She was safe. After taking steadying breaths, she turned to look at Lorcan. He was covered in blood, his throat slashed. She let out a scream.

Sitting up once again, she knew without a doubt that this time was real. It was a feeling in her gut. She looked at Lorcan. He was fine, sleeping peacefully and obliviously to her turmoil.

Sliding from the bed, she wondered if putting her dress back on could possibly make her first nightmare come true. Fear of an idea wouldn’t win against her, though, and she slid back into it to get some air for real this time.

When she had closed the door quietly behind her and she stepped outside into the night air, she left the door open, just in case. She didn't plan to take more than a step or two from the entrance, but she felt her heart leap out of her chest, only just managing to stifle a yelp, when she saw a shadowy figure across from her against the shed.

Link was sitting on the ground, head bowed over, legs stretched, and his back up against the shed. His eyes were cracked as she walked up to him, subconsciously hearing her move before his brain could truly wake up. When he heard her stop, his eyes blinked open, stretching his stiff muscles after sitting in such an odd position. “What are you doing out here?” he asked with a yawn.

Zelda scoffed. “Nightmares. Why are you not in your room?”

Link’s expression faltered before he brought back his mask of an easy smile. “You have one guess for why I couldn’t sleep in my room. Go.”

Zelda looked behind her towards his room through the door, then back at Link. He raised his eyebrows, daring her to figure it out. And when she did, her hand went to her mouth and she shook her head, turning purple, not even red.

Link just nodded and leaned back again.

“Oh Blood of Din, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Link. I didn’t know you were… Lorcan said you never came in and were on patrol.”

Link laughed darkly, his knee began to bounce up and down with noticeable annoyance. “I’d lie to you about many things for your safety, Princess, but my brother will lie to you for himself.

Her entire body had betrayed her with it's warmth and it's obvious color as her heart hammered into her chest. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this embarrassed. What can I do? Oh Goddess, I’m sorry.” She sat down across from him, unable to hold herself up any longer. Her hand covered her mouth in pure mortification, and she could feel her eyes welling up.

Link sat forward, looking her over. “Hey,” he said with more concern when he realized she hadn’t blinked in over a minute of sitting there. “I’m sorry, I was teasing you. I made it seem far worse than it was. I shouldn’t have. I’ll admit I heard… a little… but then I came out here so you two could have… privacy. You can’t hear anything from here, and I fell asleep. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have teased you. I forget who I’m talking to sometimes.”

Zelda finally managed to swallow. “Are you telling the truth?”

“Of course,” he said, his voice knightly, his eyes set on her in a determined way.

_I’d lie to you about many things for your safety, Princess…_

Goddess, could she ever trust a word he said to her?


	6. Chapter 6

Zelda sat at the table, biting her nails anxiously. Link and Lorcan were talking in the other room. It looked heated, but not hostile. She couldn’t make eye contact with Link after their chat last night, and she couldn’t look at Lorcan without thinking about what Link had told her. That he’d known about Link’s location. She felt a sigh of relief when they both went outside.

“I’m swearing off men,” Zelda muttered to Fina, who chuckled politely. Zelda glanced at her. “Don’t think I can?”

Fina fiddled with a thread on her sleeve. “I believe you’re quite capable of maintaining that promise… but I believe that there are two people who might challenge you to keep it.”

Zelda had confided in Fina that morning, needing someone to talk to. And she trusted Fina. She’d kept some of Zelda’s worst secrets in the past, things that were crucial to Hyrule’s image and survival. She could keep this one.

“Hello darlings,” Eilda said, patting both Fina and Zelda on the shoulder. “I found some things that belonged to my daughter and I that may fit you both. They’re upstairs where you slept, Fina.”

“Thank you, Eilda,” they both said quickly. Fina led Zelda upstairs, both eager to change from their clothes.

Zelda had never worn such clothes. They were suited to life on a farm rather than life in a castle. They were dull in color, far more practical than anything she’d ever worn, and honestly, more comfortable in some ways than the silks she was used to. The only thing that didn’t fit her were the practical shoes that had been left out, so she was forced to stay in her unsupportive flats. Fina didn’t seem nearly as fazed by the style change as Zelda was, having grown up on a farm herself, and helped Zelda braid her blond hair and cover much of it with a dark kerchief. There were workers on the farm today, and as Link said, her hair was the most noticeable part about her. But with this getup, she could easily pass for anyone, so long as the onlooker didn’t quite know her.

They headed back to the empty downstairs and went outside. The sun betrayed the early hour, and Eilda’s energy as she mulled about offered the suggestion that she’d been up for some time already. Zelda watched Eilda in the field along the side of the house, doing things in the dirt that she couldn’t name. She’d never watched this type of work up close before. She’d seen her gardeners trim and water the hedges and flowers, but never had she inspected a farmer at work in their field. When she and her father would come by to “grace” them with their presence, all work stopped to a grinding halt.

Eilda felt her gaze and turned to Zelda and Fina with a smile. “You worked in a field in the past, yes?” she asked Fina. The girl nodded. “You may help, if you’d like. You’re under no obligation to, but feel free.”

“I’d love that,” Fina smiled, missing the routine that reminded her of her childhood. She grabbed something… a shovel?... from the shed and went back to grab something… seeds… from Eilda. Zelda sighed. Goddess, she knew nothing of life outside.

“You may help if you wish, Princess. It’s tiresome work, mind you. Still, I’ll not stop you if you’d like to try. But just keep that hand covered so no dirt gets into the cuts.”

“I would but… I don’t know anything that you’re doing.”

She looked up and saw workers all across the field, doing separate tasks. She could see Link and Lorcan lugging things around in the distance. There was so much, and she knew none of it.

“Sit with me,” Eilda said, patting the dirt beside her.

“I don’t want to ruin your clothes.”

Eilda gestured to her own dress and apron. “They’re meant to be dirtied. It’s hard to escape out here.”

Zelda smiled, more eager than she’d expected when she sat down and began listening to every word Eilda said, from how to turn dirt, to planting seeds.

The feeling of the dirt through her fingers felt surprisingly nice, and she found the work calming, keeping her mind from settling too long on one thing outside the task at hand.

The clanging of wood clashing against more wood snapped her out of her daze. Hours later, she was back to helping, this time, as alone as any of them would allow so she could have some space. She looked around, her ears following the clanking. Finally, she saw Link and Lorcan swinging a quarterstaff-like length of wood around at the other, clashing repeatedly.

Though it looked like friendly practice, she could see some of their swings move with too much force, a genuine attempt to injure the other.

It didn’t surprise her to see Lorcan fighting more aggressively than his brother. And she realized what Tydus had meant when he’d said that practicing without any armor was as much a safety precaution as actual armor. Lorcan had two large red spots on his ribs, and she noticed that Link was fighting in a different stance, favoring his weaker hand so he would be less likely to hit his brother in the same spot. But Link had clearly taken Zelda’s presence more seriously, and he wore an incredibly loose shirt, preserving some semblance of modesty around her.

She watched them both move wildly, the sticks spinning, their feet moving. Lorcan managed a hit to Link’s back, sending him stumbling forward… with a laugh? It was curious to watch them. It seemed their training was equal parts serious training, a release of pent-up anger, and genuine fun.

“They’re not going to seriously injure each other. They’ve done this since they were little boys.”

Zelda glanced at Eilda over her shoulder. “Was it always obvious that they’d become two of the most recognized fighters in the kingdom?”

Eilda shrugged and helped Zelda off the ground. “They’d always been good. Their siblings were as well. And with their father, I think we always knew they’d want to follow the more exciting life of Knighthood rather than farming. I don’t think their father and I knew just how good they’d all become.”

“You didn’t have any idea that Link would be the Goddess’ Chosen Hero, fit enough to wield the Master Sword?”

Eilda chuckled. “Absolutely not. He was a happy little boy. He chased his brothers and annoyed his sister. When he drew the sword from its resting place and moved to the castle, he began to change. When he came home after he’d broken his betrothal to you, he was… not the same boy anymore. He’d seen battle. He was not lighthearted. He didn’t enjoy simple things as easily. Oh Goddess, was he alert. The poor thing never slept, whether from nightmares or just habit, I don’t know. Then he left again and came back worse. Before this visit, he’d been a stone the last time I’d seen him. It was a fight to even get him to sit for a meal.”

Zelda let that sit with her for a moment. She watched him strike at his brother with too much force to counter, and Lorcan fell backwards, though he was quick to return to his feet.

“What about Lorcan? Or your other children? Did they have the same problem?”

Eilda’s face fell. “They all did. Their father brought them to war, and I had to bring them home. My daughter followed his footsteps, even when she couldn’t see them. She’s a soldier up north now. And Lyal fell victim to every mother’s worst fear. Lorcan spent too much time with Link out there, I believe. He lived in a shadow that was too long to escape, and he fights everyone who notices it. He doesn’t understand that he’s blessed by the Goddesses to never hold that cursed Master Sword. I can’t breathe when I think of them out there fighting. And to them, it’s no different than getting up to tend the plants. It’s just who they are now.”

“I’m sorry,” Zelda said, hesitantly reaching out to place her hand on Eilda’s arm.

Lorcan whipped the staff against Link’s back a second time, sending him to the ground this time. Eilda gasped, shaking her head. “Goddess, I love my children, but I do with they were just farmers most days.”

Link hurried to his feet and managed two hard hits on Lorcan, one to his wrist that dropped the staff. Link grabbed it as it fell and stepped back, tauntingly swinging both staffs in his hands in victory. Lorcan shoved his brother and grabbed something off the ground before heading in the other direction.

Glancing in their direction, Link bowed his head slightly to her and his mother, breathing heavily as he also picked something up and followed Lorcan.

If there was one thing Zelda knew about both of them, it was that they were deadly. And she would hate to be the one to face the other end of their blades.

* * *

The next day, Zelda tried to ignore her body’s pleas not to continue to work. It was sore everywhere, and her hands were twitching from overuse. But she sat in the dirt once again, given a new dress by Eilda, determined to try again.

Link walked by, wearing the same loose, oversized shirt that he had the day before. Zelda made a face. She’d seen him wash it, but he had to be incredibly warm. The sleeves were too long, even rolled, and she felt bad when she saw the bead of sweat trickling from his forehead. When he wasn’t laser focused on his task, he patrolled the outer edge of the farm, keeping an eye on the horizon for any sign of trouble.

He was in her area now, and Zelda felt far more comfortable meeting his eye today than yesterday. Needless to say, it had been an awkward dinner.

“Link!” Zelda called.

He turned to her and made a face when he saw her quite literally sitting in the dirt. He bent down on his haunches in front of her. “What are you doing?”

She smiled and triumphantly reached for something behind her. “I rooted a weed,” she said with a laugh, holding up the weed, root and all.

Link grinned. “My prodigy. I’ve never been so proud.”

Zelda glanced around to see if there was anyone else near her. “I’ll confess, I’m so sore today after doing this work yesterday. You did this for years before moving into the town, right? How do you live with this pain all the time?”

Sliding onto the dirt, Link leaned forward, holding his arms out. “You need to get some muscle. You’re practically skin and bone. If you work here long enough, you’d develop some, and then it wouldn’t hurt so bac. You’d have the right muscles for it.”

Zelda raised her eyebrow, though her eyes inadvertently were drawn to his own muscles before she managed to focus. “So far, you’ve called me soft, skin, and bones. Do you have anything kind to add?”

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I’ve been teasing you, but I forget who I’m talking to. I’ll be more cautious of it.”

“No!” Zelda said, too quickly. “No, I… so few people talk to me that way. I forget what it’s like to laugh sometimes. Don’t stop. I enjoy your teasing far more than you realize. It makes me feel like a person rather than a _thing_ … a princess.”

His lips twitched up into a smirk. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Thank you,” she said, satisfied. “So, is this what you do for fun? Do you come home and farm?”

“I don’t catch your meaning,” he admitted, curious at the sudden topic shift.

“I mean, when you have free time, what do you do? I’m trying to know you, Link. It’s been a while.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I train in my free time.”

“What do you do that isn’t related to your job?”

His smile faltered. After a long pause, he shrugged. “Drink?”

“Anything else?”

He scoffed. “I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t have much time outside of my job. I don’t _do_ things for fun. I don’t ride my horse through the fields like I used to. I don’t have the time for it.”

Zelda pulled her legs up. “If you were to go right now to do something fun, what would you do?”

“What do you do, Princess?” he countered, his eyebrow raised. 

“I… read.”

“And?”

She bit her lip, thinking hard. She was told to pray in her spare time. And if she wasn’t, sometimes, she’d be made to take a trip to a spring or a temple just to demonstrate her reverence. If she wasn’t at the springs, she was at home doing much the same, or attending some political event. “I used to talk to Tydus for fun.”

Link’s eyes met hers with an empathetic sadness. “You’re in a gilded cage, but a cage nonetheless.”

She smiled,, though it was entirely without humor or joy. “You’re a free man with no freedom.”

Neither of them knew life outside their titles. And for the first time, that knowledge crushed her. After tending this field, cutting her hand, and nearly being killed, she realized that there was more to life than she’d ever realized. And when cutting her hand is an adventure in itself, she knew she was far too sheltered by the confines of the palace. A cut. She’d never even been allowed to do even that.

Link sighed heavily and stood up. “I’m… going to go train with Lorcan. You should learn a few things, just to keep you relatively safe.”

As if on cue, Lorcan appeared behind him, clapping him in the shoulder.

Zelda hesitated. “I don’t want to become a master swordsman, but... I suppose it would be nice not to need to pass every knife over to My Lady because I don’t even know how to hold it safely.”

Lorcan shook his head. “You can’t train with a sword. And a knife is dangerous. We’ll be here to protect you. I swear, we won’t let you be harmed.”

“I’ll help you,” Link offered, sick of hearing Lorcan go on and on. “If you want _my_ help, that is.”

Zelda looked from him to Lorcan. “Of course,” she said, feigning ignorance to the real questions hidden in his word and his tone. _Would you rather be trained by Lorcan, your lover? Do you trust me enough, even after what I’ve done to you in the past?_

“Okay,” Link said, extending his hand. She took it, feeling something like a jolt of electricity pass through them.

Lorcan sighed. “Fine, I’ll help as well.”

Link grinned at Zelda, Lorcan’s jealousy pouring off of him in waves. Link lifted his foot and pulled the knife from his boot again, handing it to her. “Take this. You can use it to train.”

Lorcan seemed completely oblivious to the knife’s meaning between them and just started to walk away from the farmed land towards their little clearing.

Twirling it around in her hand, Zelda looked between both of them. "What exactly do you _do_ to train with a knife? It's just point and stab, right?"

Link stared at Lorcan with a bemused grin, though his words were aimed at Zelda. "Go on, stab my brother, then."

Zelda rolled her eyes and turned to Lorcan. He held his arms out, offering her anywhere. "I'm not going to actually stab him, you know that right? You're not using me to enact some sibling rivalry fantasy you've been harboring."

"And here I thought you were more fun," Link laughed, adjusting her grip for her. It was awkward because of the bandage she still had over her hand. "Just touch the knife to his skin."

Turning to Lorcan, she bit back an amused smile as she pressed the knife to his side and looked at her instructors. "Well? Have I killed you?"

Lorcan jabbed the spot hard with his finger, and she heard the resistance of a bone. "No. You just gave me an itch, not a wound. Try again."

She made a face and touched the knife to his shoulder blade, something she'd recalled seeing some Knight do in training at some point. Lorcan smiled and pushed her wrist up a few inches to his neck. "Here's better."

Zelda went to hand it back to Link. "You know, I don't actually think I want to stab someone anymore."

Link glanced at his brother and then back at Zelda. "Can I show you why you'll need to know how to use that knife one day?"

Shrugging, she waited. Link held her arm softly, letting her have a sense that he was about to grab her. She nodded, and he pulled her against him, the crook of his muscular arm clenched around her throat. Though she knew he wasn't applying any pressure at all, and had no intention to hurt her, even the sensation of something around such a vulnerable spot had her gasp, her hands immediately and reflexively going up to pull his arm away. 

"Okay," she muttered, glaring at Lorcan in front of her. "I'm being kidnapped. Lovely. Now what?"

"What do you think?" Link asked, not moving. 

Lorcan nodded and Zelda touched the knife to Link's arm. 

"Okay," Link said, letting go of her with that arm. It gave her enough room to spin out of his 'tight' grasp, but he grabbed her empty handed wrist with his other hand. "You're not free yet. Now what would you do?"

She looked Link over quickly and pressed the knife where Lorcan had just shown her: on Link's neck. 

Link let go of her completely and nodded. "Speed that up and you just survived."

Holding the knife back out to Link, she chuckled. "I'll try to remember that. In the meantime, I'm paying both of you to be in my employ as the Princess, so don't plan on an early retirement. I won't be able to hold my own in a skirmish overnight, but if you'd help me a few more times, perhaps get to at least the level Fina is at, I'd be grateful."

Lorcan patted her shoulder as he passed by them. "You just want to practice with us so you can stab us."

"I've been found out," she called back with a smile. She looked at Link and crossed her arms. "You're my Personal Knight, but don't think I don't want to stab you too sometimes."

He smirked. "I figured that was the case."

* * *

Zelda found Link sitting outside after dinner, watching the sun set.

“Mind company?” she asked.

He shook his head and gestured beside him.

Zelda sat as primly as she could. “You look like you’re thinking about something. What is it?”

“You,” Link said, turning to her with a smile. She rolled her eyes and he continued. “Who’s trying to kill you, specifically. I have a lead, but I’m hesitant to act on it.”

“Can I ask why?”

“I don’t want to leave you here with just my brother. He’s good when he’s in a fight, but he’s easily distracted. He’s not watchful. I don’t know how to do this.”

“Easily,” Zelda said with a shrug. “You take us with you.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Link chuckled. “If I hid you behind a rock while I clear out an entire camp and miss one single person, they see you, and they immediately kill you before I can even turn around. That’s how fast it can happen.”

“Then stay. Send Lorcan.”

Link glanced at her with a glint in his eyes. “Lorcan is untrustworthy. I sent him to Gerudo Desert, and here he is. I asked him to watch you in the palace, he brought you with him to find me. He won’t listen.”

Zelda tried again. “Bring us and Lorcan. He can guard Fina and I while you do… whatever you do.”

“I appreciate your efforts, but I’m not seeing a happy solution,” Link sighed. “I just don’t know what to do. I normally don’t have to worry about this. I have the Knights of Hyrule to lean on. If I needed to go somewhere, I’d leave you with them. But they can’t know.”

Ever undeterred, Zelda grabbed Link’s arm. “Then stay. Stay a day or two more. We’ll think of something.”

He let his hand rest lightly over hers, still feeling that jolt of electricity. But it didn’t last long as he stared out to the horizon. He pulled her to her feet and pushed her inside. “Go!” he hissed.

Link slammed the door behind them. Lorcan, Fina, and Eilda ran to the main room to see what was happening.

“Riders,” Link breathed out. “Five that I saw.”

“Riders?” Zelda gasped.

Lorcan grabbed Fina. “Go outside, pretend to work. There are still a few people left out here today. Don’t let them get a look at your face if they’re from the palace.”

Link grabbed Zelda, but he looked over at Lorcan. “You’re fine. They’ll know you weren’t with her.” He dragged Zelda into the next room and glanced out the window. Lorcan was pulling at something on the floor, and Zelda watched, completely lost.

“Hurry,” Eilda hissed from the doorway. “They’re a few minutes away but move quickly.”

“Got it,” Lorcan hissed, pulling a piece of the floor off. But Zelda gasped. It was a small space meant to hide things beneath the floor.

“Why do you have this?” Zelda asked numbly. She took Lorcan’s outstretched hand automatically and he helped her toward a small, cramped, dark hole that she’d have to lay in. Like a grave. “Wait, wait, I can’t.” Her breathing sped up, and she felt herself take a few steps back. “They’re going to find me in there and kill me. It’s a grave. I’ll die in there if you make me get in. I can’t do it. I can’t.”

Link glanced out the window and then back at Zelda. He turned to Lorcan. “Can I trust you?”

“Of course, brother,” Lorcan said, his expression mildly offended.

“Okay. Get them out of here. Do whatever it takes,” Link breathed, hopping into the small hole. He held out his hand. “Zelda?”

“What are you doing?”

“I have to hide, too. I’m meant to be at the Springs with you, so I’ll stay with you if you want. It’ll be more cramped, but if they find us, they’ll have to get through Lorcan and I before even coming close to you.”

“If that’s all,” Lorcan said, grabbing Zelda, “I’ll do it.”

Link kept his hand out to Zelda. “We don’t have time. They have to close the floorboards up. Lorcan can’t do this. There is no reason for him to hide. I’m the only other one who needs to hide. If you’d rather I went somewhere else, that’s fine, but either way you have to get in now.”

Zelda grabbed his hand. He could feel her shaking. She took a hesitant step into the crawl space and nodded to Link. He stepped to the side to give her as much space as possible, and she crouched down, slowly making her way to lay down in the small rectangular dirt patch while Link untied the Master Sword from his back and moved it to his hip. She looked up at him with a face, her eyes pointedly on the sword.

He bent down, and this time, she scooted over. “I can’t leave the sword out. It's too recognizable. They’ll know we’re here.”

“Great,” she muttered.

He lowered himself into the hole and shifted onto his side, giving her as much of the space as possible.

“You okay?” Lorcan asked, kneeling above them.

“Yes,” Zelda breathed. “Do it before I panic.”

“Hurry,” Eilda added again.

Lorcan replaced the wood and left the two of them in complete darkness save for a single slit of light. When he closed the door and left the room, Zelda started to hyperventilate.

Truly, it was more roomy than she imagined. She’d thought she wouldn’t be able to move her arms at all, but it was deep enough that she could move her arms around a fair amount. Sideways wasn’t quite as comfortable, and her shoulder was pressed straight into Link’s chest. She wasn’t going to complain about the lack of space though. She was only in this grave-shaped hole because she wasn’t alone.

“Stop, stop,” he whispered just loud enough that she could hear. Even then, her breathing was louder than his voice. “Calm down.”

“They… what if…?”

“Hey, Princess, have you ever considered that these past few days are the most exciting days you’ve ever had in your life? This is fun.”

She scoffed, turning towards him, though that did little other than give them the smallest gap between them. “Fun? You think this is _fun_?”

There was a knock on the door and Zelda’s breath hitched, sliding back against Link. If nothing else, she’d seen him move, and he was fast. If someone were to grab the trick floor, he would be on them quickly.

There was a muffled conversation on the other side of the door. They strained their ears to hear anything. And they heard one word spoken loudly and clearer than anything.

“Syrril?”

Link sucked in air and Zelda made a noise. “Syrril?” she whispered. The name was familiar, but she was too foggy to place it.

Link groaned. “My father.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After uncomfortably hiding from Link and Lorcan's father, Zelda overhears news that has her reeling in the worst way.

It was a long while since Link’s father had entered the home. Nothing from the other side of the door was clear enough to hear, and Zelda was sore, stiff, and feeling her anxiety rise with every passing moment.

“I just don’t get why we can't get out of here?” Zelda tried again. The volume of her voice was softer than a light breeze.

Link’s volume echoed hers. “It doesn’t matter if I trust my father. If any of those four men see you and they’re a part of anything, you’re dead.”

“Lorcan is doing a horrible job getting rid of him. It’s been forever,” Zelda complained.

She could feel Link shrug. “It’s not who any of us expected to be riding down the path.”

“I will never take a bed for granted again,” she muttered, shifting again. She felt herself brush over Link for the thousandth time, trying to get mildly comfortable. Every time she did, Link pushed himself further into the wall to try to give her some space. Though he was just as uncomfortable, he’d been trained to put it pain and discomfort from his mind. Clearly, Zelda hadn't.

“I hate this,” Zelda whispered. “I want to get out. We can sneak through the window, right?”

“You are fine. Just close your eyes and take a nap.”

“A nap?” she hissed. “You want me to take a nap?”

“I’ll take one, then.”

“Please don’t…” she muttered, adjusting again. “Is your arm numb?”

“Pretty much,” he said, so matter-of-factly that it made her want to hit him .

“Here,” she said, shifting to allow him to move onto his back. As he did, something long and hard brushed against her, and she gasped, shimmying out of the way. “Link,” she whispered, “that had better be your sword.”

There was a beat, and then she felt Link roll into her, using her arm to stifle his laughter. “Goddess, Zelda,” he whispered, a laugh still in his voice as he pulled away. “Yes, that _is_ in fact my sword. Well, now I know where _your_ mind is. And here I thought you were nervous being in here, but you're in a whole different mindset.”

She let out a harsh breath. “Okay, that was embarrassing. But I was quite caught off guard, Link. Us in this hole isn’t exactly a particularly… _sensual_ predicament.”

He nearly snorted but kept it under control. He could hear her low laughter as well. _So, this kind of distraction is what keeps her calm,_ he realized as he heard her breathing steady out. It wasn’t ragged, as it had been just moments ago when she’d been desperate to get out. She was no longer anxious about being caught, and her mind focused on _other_ things. 

“Speak for yourself,” he mused. “If you’d stop squirming against me, I could agree with you.”

“Link!” she hissed, probably too loudly.

“What?” he asked, innocently, hearing the laugh in her voice. “It’s not my fault. I can’t stop it from reacting.”

“Oh, Goddess, Link!”

“Don’t act like you don’t know that.”

“Stop being so forward about it,” she whispered back with a nervous chuckle in her voice. He could almost hear her blush. “This is _not_ the kind of conversation I usually have with someone.”

He hummed. “Because our predicament falls in the realm of ‘usual’.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, though he couldn't see. "Now I know what you get your kicks from, apparently."

He fought hard to stifle his laugh again, and she could feel him shake his head. But he didn't trust his own voice, and neither responded.

Zelda clicked her tongue after a stretch of long silence. “Link... I need to move. This is uncomfortable.”

“Of course you do," he said humorously as he rolled himself against the wall again.

* * *

Link’s eyes opened to darkness. He twitched, forgetting just where he was before settling back down. Zelda was resting on him now, her arm and head against his chest. He could hear her even breaths. Still asleep.

It had been _hours_ since their father had come into the house. He wondered if Lorcan and his mother were content to just leave them stuck here. But then, he realized why he’d woken up. Footsteps.

His hand went to the Master Sword, though he didn’t have a good angle on it.

A floorboard creaked, and Zelda twitched, gasping against him, grateful that she’d muffled her surprise against him. She watched the slit of light disappear and then reappear as someone walked over them.

Then, there was another set of footsteps.

“Father,” Lorcan said coolly.

“Lorcan,” Syrril responded. The door closed.

“What are you doing here? What are you _really_ doing here?”

“It’s like I told your mother. I heard about the attacks nearby and I came to make sure she was okay.”

“I don’t believe that.”

Zelda couldn’t see Link’s reaction, but this time, it was his turn to squirm as they listened.

“I don’t know why,” Syrril muttered, picking something up before sighing heavily. “I suppose you heard about the Princess? Or did you leave your duties too soon?”

Lorcan’s tone turned defensive. “The entire kingdom heard. And I left _after._ It’s not my fault my brother didn’t trust me enough to take me along on their little pilgrimage.”

“That’s unfair, son. People tried to kill her. Your brother did the right thing getting her out. Though I’ll admit, the king is less than pleased at her flight.”

“What?” Lorcan asked with a scoff. “Why?”

Syrril sat on something, the legs of it scraping the wooden floor. “The timing of all of this is incredibly suspicious. You’re brought in the same day she’s forced to flee. Then, her father welcomes the Southern Prince Ward. It’s a mess there.”

“Wait, say that again,” Lorcan said. He’d moved across the room. “Who?”

Syrril scoffed. “ _That_ word doesn’t travel as fast, I suppose. “He’s come to form a peace treaty through a marriage with the Princess. I gather that might even be why the King was so insistent that she be protected now more than ever before.”

Zelda gasped.

Lorcan mimicked her noise, which was far too loud, to cover for her. The silence between him and his father betrayed some mild suspicion, but thankfully, Syrril was suspicious for the wrong reasons. “Lorcan, she’s long gone from your reach. You were never possible. The king only wanted her to marry your brother, not you. I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m…” he stopped, remembering that he was meant to cover for her horrified gasp. “Yes. That’s the real tragedy, isn’t it?”

“Don’t tell him this, but I would have rather it had been you. You were far more responsible. I still have trouble believing what he did to that poor girl.”

Lorcan laughed and stamped his foot deliberately. “Which one of the girls are you referring to?"

Link scowled, not that anyone could see.

Syrril scoffed. "At least he didn't stay long enough to break any of their hearts. Though I don't know how the Princess fared. No matter now. She'll likely be unhappy at this news, but her father insists on a marriage immediately upon her return. Still, I wish it could have been you. Don't tell him."

Lorcan had a grin in his voice. "I will _never_ tell him. I swear.”

“Son, you’re not a farmer. Come back with me. Come back to the castle. Don’t waste your time helping your mother. She’s hired people for that.”

“I will. Let me settle here and I’ll ride out to meet you tomorrow. Let’s give them no reason to linger on my mother’s property. Her hospitality is spent after my visits.”

“True,” Syrril laughed. “Very well, we’ll leave at once. We’re taking the King’s Road. You’ll find us along it.”

“Noted.”

There was a moment before the door closed again.

“Are you okay?” Link whispered when he was sure they’d moved away.

“No," she whispered against him, her mind whirling in all the worst ways.

* * *

It wasn’t long until the door opened again, much more frantically this time. The wood creaked, and hands were scratching above them. Link had his hand on his sword, but his mother’s voice stopped him.

“They’re gone.”

Light beamed onto their faces, making them both blink wildly. Lorcan pulled Zelda out and watched her pace the room, stretching her legs and releasing her pent-up energy all at once.

“A marriage?” she spat. “He never even told me.”

“I didn’t know,” Lorcan offered, as if that were meant to console her.

Link shook his head. “I didn’t either.”

“No…” Zelda’s mouth opened in a quiet horror as a sudden realization dawned on her. She hurried from the room and whipped around, not seeing who she was looking for. She ran outside, looking again. And she finally noticed her.

“Fina!” Zelda screamed.

Eilda, Lorcan, and Link trailed her quickly, but Zelda moved with lightening speed.

“Fina, tell me you didn’t know,” she all but begged.

Fina looked between everyone. She’d been hiding in plain sight, unaware of any goings on. “Know?”

“That I’m marrying Prince Ward.”

But the silence that hung between them was answer enough.

Zelda let out a frustrated scream and pushed Fina away from her, fending off the arms that had reached forward to hold her back. She didn’t even know whose they were.

“Princess! Your father made me swear. I can’t go against the king.”

“I trusted you! Here I thought you treated me like a person, but to you, I’m just another pawn.”

“That’s not true.”

She didn’t know who was holding her, but she tried to rip her arms away. They held her firmly in place. “Let go!”

Finally, she heard the voice in her ear. It was Lorcan. “I can’t. That’s your closest friend. You know what your father does to people. She can’t say no to him.”

She managed to elbow him just hard enough to get out of his grasp, to back away from everyone and get air and space.

Pointing to Link, she tried to fight a sob. “I should take a page from your book. It worked so well for you to escape a marriage trap to me.” She was barely standing, staggering backwards with every word. “Lorcan and I can go sleep together in the middle of the most public place we can find. Maybe midday in Castle Town. Let’s hope everyone sees so that I can be called ‘tainted’ or a ‘whore’ by my father and he’ll stop trying to sell me to every man who walks by him!" Her voice cracked as she shouted. "We know who the real problem is here and it’s not me this time.”

“Princess,” Eilda tried, but Zelda flinched away.

Spinning, she grabbed Lorcan’s knife and took a few steps backwards.

“Lorcan!” Link hissed at his brother’s slow reaction to her.

Zelda didn’t seem to hear anything. “No, my father would find a way, even if I was _spoiled_ for some precious prince. Do you know what royalty really values?” She waved the knife in her hand. “A pretty face.”

She closed her eyes and went to press the knife to her cheek. If she could handle a few seconds of pain, she’d be spared years of misery. Her father was vain. She knew he sold her based on her beauty and power alone. But she didn't have her powers yet-- magical or political--and her beauty was her father's only remaining selling point. None of them cared if she was smart, or funny. No one gave a damn about what she wanted. And a pretty princess with an ugly scar would be hard for any of _that lot_ to stomach.

But the knife didn’t press into her skin. She opened her eyes, trying to pull the knife back towards her, but she stopped fighting, seeing blood dripping through Link’s fingers as his hand wrapped around the sharp blade. She let go and watched Link’s eyes on her. They were fierce, angry, and concerned all at once. Without looking away, he held the knife out to Lorcan, who took it uneasily.

“Try that again,” Link challenged, practically a growl.

She took a step back toward Lorcan and saw Eilda push past Fina to wrap a cloth around Link’s bloody fingers.

“Come with me,” Lorcan said, leading Zelda away from Link, Fina, and Eilda.

When they reached a small clearing away from the house, Lorcan helped Zelda to the ground, laying in the grass. Zelda followed his lead and stared up at the sky, littered with stars. 

"All I want is to be free. I want to be allowed to make my own decisions. You'd think I was still a teenager, but I'm just a pawn for my father to sacrifice for the sake of the long game."

"Put him in check, then."

"How?" she asked, imagining the unlikely scenario of her pawn ever putting the mighty king in such a position. 

Lorcan sat up, bringing her with him. "You could marry me against everyone's wishes."

She grinned and ran her hand affectionately along his cheek. "I don't love you either, Lorcan. I honestly don't think I'll ever love anyone again. And I might just be fine with that."

Lorcan kissed her and stood, offering her his hand. "I have to pack up to join my father. I'll see what I can do on your behalf back at the castle. After this long though, I think it'll be safe to return soon. Your guards will all be ready. I’ll ride out before anyone wakes up tonight.”

“No goodbye?”

Lorcan turned to her with a sly grin. “You’re not very good at goodbyes.”

Zelda shook her head and rolled her eyes. Crossing her arms, she stared out at the horizon, letting her thoughts drift. And no matter if she tried to think of Prince Ward, Fina, or Lorcan, her thoughts always ended up back on her personal Knight.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The comfort of Eilda's farm had been too easy to grow accustomed to, but the dangers from the outside still manage to find them.

A week had passed since Lorcan’s departure, and Zelda had fallen into a comfortable routine of helping Eilda with the work on the farm. She still didn’t have the stamina to work all day, but she did what she could before returning to work.

Link had taken off just after the soldiers to pursue a lead. It had been his mother who’d convinced him that it was the safest opportunity, since the house had just been visited, and Zelda now knew where to hide if need be. He was reluctant to go, but Zelda had taken away any qualms he may have had when she turned it into an order.

And Fina had been trying to make amends, but Zelda wasn’t ready. There were few people in this world she trusted, and Fina had been one of them. If she could so easily keep an important secret like that from her, what else could she hide?

Eilda had affectionately taken to calling both Fina and Zelda “my darlings” as she went about her day. It was a monotonous routine, but it never lacked for things to do, tasks to accomplish.

Zelda didn’t realize just how much she’d miss the company of Link and Lorcan until after they’d left. Despite going years without them, she’d come to find their presence comforting, or if nothing else, safe. They were there to protect her from the string of attacks on her. And that safety was gone.

Of course, Lorcan wasn’t so single-minded in his task of protecting her, and she admittedly missed their relationship as well. It felt good to forget _everything_ , even just for the short time she was with him. And especially now, in the midst of an unknown threat, she wished he were with her, if only for one night.

Then again, Link wasn’t the same hot-head she’d once known. She hadn’t missed the change in him. He was no longer a child, or rebellious. He cared about his role of wielding the Master Sword, and he seemed much more like an adult than she’d once known him to be. She felt pain for him, though. That carefree boy had been replaced by a hardened knight, someone who was steeled to killing and injuring any who was in his way. She found herself morbidly curious to know what they’d actually done to him to make him this way. The boy she knew wouldn’t have been capable of callously taking someone’s ear, even if it had been to defend her.

And the more she thought of him, the more she wished they’d kept their betrothal years ago and that nothing had happened between them. She wouldn’t be in this position with Prince Ward if they had.

Perhaps it had been her reminiscing that had brought on dreams of their younger years, the days when they’d still both been blissfully ignorant of their futures, before anything had gone wrong.

_“Zelda!” he’d called, hurrying up to her. “Zelda,” he panted, matching her stride, “Goddess, didn’t you hear me?”_

_“No,” she’d lied, turning to him with a mischievous smile._

_“Oh,” he’d said. “Well, my father said I should take you to the gardens, but I honestly don’t know where they are."_

_Zelda had fought back a laugh for his own teenage ego to remain unbruised. “I can bring you there, since we’re meant to go together. But Link, you don’t have to. I know this is all still new and you've really only just arrived. You have other things you probably want to do, like Master Sword... things."_

_He chuckled, his hand going to the new sword on his hip. "I wouldn't mind training, but I do that every day. Besides, I wouldn't hate learning where some things are around here. Not really sure what to do there though. It's just some flowers, right?"_

_"Yes, there are flowers and topiaries, but it’s a place where we’d go to just talk and get to know one another, not to do anything.”_

_“Couldn’t really do much anyway,” he muttered, glancing behind them at the constant eyes that watched them a distance, chaperoning them everywhere they went._

_But Zelda had stopped and grinned. “We could lose them, just for fun.”_

_“You’re not going to get in trouble?”_

_But that time, Zelda had laughed. “Of course I am, and you as well. We can’t outrun them forever, but it will be fun while it lasts. Perhaps we can see Lady Naya’s panic when she realizes we know the gardens better than her and that we’ve disappeared forever.”_

_“I don’t know the gardens that well.”_

_She gave her dress a playful twirl. “You have me! So? Do you want to have a laugh with me, or no?"_

_He’d looked her over, for the first time, seeing far more than just the girl he’d been forced to share a life with. “Yeah, let’s give them a small heart attack.” He’d offered her his hand, and she’d taken it before they ran at a full sprint towards the garden._

She woke up and rubbed her eyes at the memory. It hadn’t been the only time they’d gotten into trouble together, but it had been the first. They’d both received a harsh scolding from their fathers, but it had been worth it. And she wondered if Link would ever even consider such a prank now. Or, was he too serious? Was he too hardened by his life since then? He’d said that he was sent places to kill, but did that affect his personality as much as she thought it would?

“My Lady?” Fina asked, creaking the door open. “It’s light out.”

“Mmm,” Zelda said, stretching. “Thank you.” While she didn’t quite trust Fina yet, she could remain civil.

They all ate in silence, and when they’d finished, Eilda had tried to start a conversation between them all, but it hadn’t quite worked. Zelda went her own way, and Eilda followed Fina into the field.

“You know,” Eilda said with a grin. “It’s far easier to end disputes between your children when they’re mostly boys. I only had one girl, and her arguments with her brothers became very similar to theirs. Some hair pulling, a scolding, a forced apology, and they were friends again in a few hours.”

Fina smiled kindly. “The Princess is not my sister, and she has every reason to be angry with me. I kept something from her that will affect her whole life. It’s not something she can get out of, or wave away. It is a marriage. There is no escaping it.”

“Is there nothing she can do, poor thing?”

“No,” Fina said, watching Zelda work. “As long as her father is alive, there is very little she can have a final say over. And Prince Ward… he is not… young. I know she would prefer to be with someone closer in age to herself, but there are not as many options for her.”

“Poor child,” Eilda muttered, her heart truly going out to the Princess. The girl was sheltered, but she had a personality of someone who wanted more from life, more freedom, more say.

“Eilda,” Fina said, squinting in the distance. “Someone’s coming.”

She turned and brushed her hands off on her apron. “Take the Princess into the house.”

Fina nodded and ran to Zelda. “Princess, someone’s coming.”

Zelda’s head whipped toward the road, and she grabbed Fina as they ran inside.

Eilda carefully moved their tools together against the house so it didn’t look like there had been anyone else, and by then, the figure was nearly in sight. And when she saw, she dropped the last tool in her hand and ran for the rider.

“Syrril!” she called, but it wasn’t him that she was reaching for.

Draped limply over the front of the horse was Lorcan, covered in blotches of red.

Syrril threw himself off the horse and pulled his son into his arms. “He was ambushed on his way back from a patrol. He just made it back to our camp. We won’t make it to the castle for proper treatment without taking care of some of it here first. I can ride back, get the healers, and bring them here!”

“Lorcan?” Eilda tried, shaking him. He groaned, but only faintly. “Bring him inside. I’ll take care of him until you bring help.”

“Okay,” Syrril muttered, practically kicking the door open. He laid his son down on the long dining table and helped pull his shirt off, exposing several long gashes from a blade. “Do you need me first?”

“No, go. I have someone helping on the farm who can assist me.”

With a final nod, Syrril took off with such speed and haste that he’d left the door wide open.

“Fina! I need your help!” Eilda called as she ran around gathering as many things as she could that might come in handy.

Fina burst through the door and gasped at the sight, but immediately recovered and began to follow Eilda’s lead, readying a bucket of water and cloth.

Zelda listened to the commotion in the other room, looking around to see if there was anything in the room that might double as a weapon. She wasn’t sure what was going on, or if it was safe to come out, but soon, the other room fell silent, and she couldn’t resist peaking her head out.

Which, of course, she immediately wished she hadn’t.

Seeing Lorcan lying on the table, covered in blood with both women bent over different wounds had her near nauseous. It was like seeing him in the Protocols, only far, far worse.

“What happened?” she managed, covering her mouth.

“I don’t know the details,” Eilda said, cleaning a wound before bringing another stitch through his flesh. She paused only to check that he still had a pulse, which he did, despite the speed at which it raced.

Zelda stood, uncertain of what to do. She looked to Fina, desperate.

But she didn’t have time to respond.

There was a loud noise as someone entered the home and crashed heavily into the door. Zelda yelped, and Eilda cursed as she pulled her stitch too tight, thankful that Lorcan was already unconscious, or that motion would have done it. She stood and hurried to the door. And there was no relief when she saw Syrril again because he didn’t have the physician with him.

He had Link’s arm wrapped around his shoulder, helping him to stumble into the house.

“Couch!” Eilda hissed, shaking. “Syrril, what’s happening?”

But Link wasn’t unconscious, though speaking took a great deal of effort through his gritted teeth. “I was ambushed on my way back.” He clutched his side and his leg, both of which were bleeding. And when he turned his head to see Zelda, his eyes shot to his father.

Syrril looked around, confusion written all over his features. “Princess Zelda?”

“Not now,” Eilda said, pushing past him to examine Link.

Link, however, was already halfway off the couch. “Lorcan? What happened to him?”

Syrril grabbed Link and led him back to the couch while Eilda cut the leg of his pants for a better look at his wound. “What happened to you? An ambush where?”

“No, I’m fine,” he said, ushering her off of him. “My brother? What happened?”

Zelda couldn’t keep her eyes on a single person in the chaos and confusion.

Syrril helped Link back down as Eilda rushed back to return to her work on her other son. He seemed to forget that Zelda was there, his question of her presence all but forgotten. “He was ambushed on his way back to our camp from a patrol. But why aren’t you with the—” he paused and glanced at Zelda. “Why is she _here_?”

“I needed help.”

“So you decided to risk your mother’s life?”

“Not the time, Syrril,” Eilda chastised, keeping her eyes focused.

“Fine. Details, son, what happened to you?”

Link glanced at Zelda as she hovered, unsure where to go or what to do. His eyes softened from their hard gaze, and he let himself groan in pain before pulling off his belt and laying it to the side of him.

“I was on my way back here after I’d gotten some information about who was behind the attacks on you, Princess. They’re lead by someone named Lorne. He’s not the leader of the entire group that’s been trying to kill you, but he is the brains of the smaller groups who have been finding you. They think it’s an alias, but that’s the name he’s gone by. Not long after I’d learned that, I was attacked by about ten of them, all with their faces hidden. I believe Lorne was among them. He’s an incredible fighter. I managed to wound him several times, but he got me pretty good as well. The bodies of those I dispatched are likely gone now, taken by the others. I’m sorry, but the rest got away.”

“Are you hurt badly?” Zelda asked. To her, all of the wounds looked pretty bad, especially where blood gurgled up.

“No, but I need to take care of this. Now, what happened to Lorcan?” Link reached out to his mother, and she handed him a needle and thread before returning to Lorcan. Link rolled his pants up the rest of the way to see the wound.

“Can I do anything?” Zelda asked, looking between Link and Syrril.

Though Syrril was about to protest, Link nodded. “If you want, you can make this easier for me. If not, my father can suck it up and help after he tells me what happened.”

He grinned, but Syrril was not amused and went to help Lorcan, who was far worse off.

Link pushed two pieces of his skin together from one of the gashes. “Hold it right here and I’ll do the rest.”

Zelda mimicked his hands and helped as he placed the belt into his mouth and bit down before shoving the needle deep into his leg, stifling a groan.

Finally, Syrril decided to distract him. “Your brother didn’t have a chance to say much more than that he was ambushed. It seems that you were both targeted. And if they think you’re not with the Princess, because you were alone, they will likely redouble their efforts to find her.”

Link grunted something before spitting the belt into his free hand. “I’m here now,” he said before returning to his work.

But Syrril’s eyes kept drifting to Zelda. “How long has she been here?”

Eilda closed off the wound she’d been working on and moved to another. “A week or so.”

“Her father is livid. He demands her return home.”

“Of course he does,” Zelda muttered in annoyance.

After her comment, the room fell silent as everyone worked diligently to stitch up the two brothers. When Link and Zelda had finished, he stretched out and stood to watch Lorcan, still unstirring and unconscious from the pain.

“Zelda,” Link muttered. “You’ll have to go home now. I have a lead that I can send others to follow for me, but your father… he’s impatient.”

“I know,” she agreed. “I wish I could stay here.”

Link nodded. “I know it’s no big consolation, but I’ll be with you for as long as I can. After your wedding, I’ll probably get replaced by someone from Ward’s kingdom. Even then, I’ll keep working to find this guy.”

Zelda winced, as if that were a physical blow. “I should have put up with your adulterous ways, Link,” she said in jest.

“I’m sorry, Zelda. I really am. For all of it.”

“I believe you, Link. I just… it’s selfish, but I feel bad for myself. If we’d stayed betrothed, despite the unhappiness it would have brought us both, neither of use would be in this situation right now.”

Link lightly put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m almost glad it worked out this way though. I hated how you looked at me. At least now… you don’t look at me with that same disgust and hatred.”

“I understand why you did what you did, Link. I would have likely done it myself in your position. I just wish I hadn’t been the one to bear that impact. That’s all.”

“I know,” he muttered again, before he tore his hand away and stood beside her. “He’ll be okay. He’s tough.”

Zelda crossed her arms and realized that she hadn’t blinked in some time, her eyes never moving off Lorcan.

“I know.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda is worn down by her father when she meets Prince Ward and convinces herself to do something she'd rather not, though she's still lost in memories of easier days.

The looming sight of the castle was not as welcoming as Zelda felt it should have been. If anything, she wished that it would at least give her a warm, excited feeling, but all she felt was dread. She wanted to leave, to go back to Eilda’s farm. She didn’t want to face her father, or to see what awaited her inside. And most importantly of all, she did not want to meet or marry Prince Ward. All of those things, however, she knew she’d face once inside.

The only small grace she had was that Link was with her. Fina was as well, and though most of Zelda’s annoyance had faded, she still couldn’t help but feel some resentment towards the girl over her lie.

The imposing walls of the castle curved inwards to reveal the gate inside, and the three of them rode through. Zelda expected she might see her father, but that was not to be. She knew she’d find him in his throne room, as she normally could, so that’s where they went first.

The Knight nodded to her respectfully as they passed by, but Zelda kept her eyes steeled forward, expecting anything to happen in this reunion. And as she approached the door, she felt her hands shake. Glancing behind her to Link and Fina, she nodded to them, a silent instruction that they wait for her. She shook her hands out before pushing the door and meeting her father’s harsh stare. But that wasn’t the only person in the throne room.

A tall man with long, dark hair was waiting patiently beside the king. There were specks of grey littering his hair, and they aged him as much as the lines that had begun to form along his face and especially on his brow. His brown eyes were dark, so dark it was almost hard to tell their color. He didn’t smile, but he had a perfectly royal mask of indifference on his face as he watched her enter the room.

She swallowed hard and entered. “Father, hello again.”

“You’re back,” he said matter-of-factly. “I hope your… adventure to the spring went well.”

“It did.”

Their conversation was the best example of a polite exchange. There was no life in their words. She realized pretty quickly that he didn’t want details. Perhaps he didn’t care, or perhaps he just wanted to move along to the stranger beside him.

“You May remember Prince Ward. He was at last year’s Spring Festival, and he is here at my behest. I have sought after several solutions to your… shortcomings. Perhaps your gifts will reveal themselves with a change of scenery. I am sending you to live with Prince Ward. You will marry him in the next few days, and you will leave here. Hopefully, it will also dissuade many of the attacks that have occurred. Clearly, just the Chosen Hero’s presence is not enough, and I hear that Lorcan is injured. We are down to our last few options.”

“Father,” Zelda balked, feeling slightly embarrassed at her dropped mouth. “Marriage is permanent! I only need a temporary solution to my problems.”

But King Rhoam shot her a sharp look. “I will pretend that you are not insulting my intelligence by reminding me of one of the most basic facts. You will do your duty, Zelda, and I will do mine.”

“Yours?” she asked carefully, keeping her eyes off Prince Ward.

“Mine. Your mother died many years ago, and I have been remiss in my duties to remarry. Both your mother and I carried the blood of the Goddess Hylia, but it is entirely possible that you have just not been blessed. I must try for more children. One of you will be blessed, since it is apparent that you are not inherently gifted the powers that She gives to the Spirit Maidens. It was perhaps hasty to presume that you and the hero would be the same age. Link will still be a formidable warrior when he’s older and another takes your place.”

Zelda stood, stunned and confused. “I don’t understand. You’re trying to replace me?”

“Don’t be a child, Zelda,” he spat. “Being a member of this family is a privilege and a duty. If you do not have the power, I will not be the one who lets this generation of leaders be remembered as the line who destroyed Hyrule due to negligence. I am looking for a suitable wife now, and in the meantime, you will marry Prince Ward. Perhaps you will have an offspring who turns out to be your mother’s successor to the power.”

“I…” Zelda muttered, unsure what else to say. “I can do this still, Father.”

“Oh,” the King said, as if she hadn’t spoken. “Prince Ward will not permit you to bring your guards, and I agree. Link is the _Hylian_ hero, and he is meant to remain in Hyrule. Lorcan, wherever he may be, has too much history with you and the Prince feels it would be better to leave your past behind. I agree on that front as well.”

“I’m being sent away alone?” Her will was breaking with every piece of herself her father was taking away, leaving her a shell without any fight left. At least marrying Prince Ward would get her away from her father. That was the greatest consolation she could think of in this disaster.

This time, as if he could read her defeat, Prince Ward stepped forward, stiff, regal, a royal expression on his face. “Princess Zelda, you will be given my guards. Given the recent attempts on your life, and your new proximity to me, I would rather rely on the guards that I know and trust for protection, rather than those I do not know. Please, allow me to walk you to your room. I believe our meeting with the King is at an end.”

Zelda turned to her father, who was already busying himself with something else off to his side, and Zelda felt herself guided away by Ward.

So, when he opened the door and was met by Link and Fina, Ward was more than a little surprised. “Are these yours?”

“They are. And while I’m still in Hyrule, I’d like to keep them with me.”

“Of course. Don’t attach yourself to them, though. I will protect myself and my kingdom first and foremost.”

She shot them both a warning look before returning her attention to Ward. “May I ask… is this being sprung on you as well?”

He offered her a kind smile, something she genuinely didn’t expect after his demeanor inside. “It was. You are very beautiful, Princess Zelda, and I will be honored to marry you. And as future husband and wife, I will confess to you that I am glad to take you away from here. Your father should not have spoken to you that way, and I was hurting for you. Please accept my apology on his behalf.”

Zelda’s eyes shot open. Was he being serious? Or was this all an act? “Thank you,” was all she could manage.

“There was word that the people who attacked you have been seen in town. Your guard should remain close to you, and our wedding should happen shortly so I may offer you some protection from them. Just be prepared if your father springs it on you.”

“I will. Thank you, Prince Ward.”

“Please,” he said with a gentlemanly bow, “My friends call me by my middle name. It’s only fitting you should as well. It’s Myles. I only go by Prince Ward in public.”

Zelda felt herself blush, much to her dismay. He had such a natural charm, but she couldn't tell how much was genuine, and what came from being a born and bred royal. “Then you may drop my title as well, though I do go by my given name.”

“Then, Zelda, I will leave you for now. Farewell.” He took her hand and kissed the back, a traditional royal greeting or farewell.

“Until later, Myles.”

She watched him leave down the hallway before hurrying towards her room with Link and Fina in tow. When she was sure they were all in private, she stopped. “Was he being genuine? Could either of you get a read on him?”

Fina offered a shrug, more than a little happy that Zelda was willing to even ask her opinion. “He seemed it.”

She turned to Link, who looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

“Link?”

Link bit his cheek and shook his head, respectfully declining to comment. It’s one thing to talk bad about his brother. That’s practically a rule of siblinghood, but to offer an honest opinion on the actions of a foreign royal? He wasn’t about to go that far.

“Come on, I can command you to tell me what you think, Link.”

He turned to her, his eyes darkening dangerously, like he were being physically threatened. “Would you really? Even knowing that I don’t want to answer? My silence isn’t enough for you?”

She sighed and continued walking. He had a point, not that she wanted to admit it to him. Link had status, practically nobility with his titles and honors. It’s why she’d have been allowed to marry him. But the look in his eyes said that his thoughts weren’t going to be positive, and that was not something he was going to say aloud.

When they finally reached her room, she tapped the door anxiously. “Will you go first, Link?”

He took out the Master Sword and scooted past her, his arm tense as he brushed by.

Zelda stared tensely at Fina before feeling her will cracking. “I’m sorry. I was angry.”

“I understand, Princess. And I shouldn’t have kept it from you.”

Zelda shook her head dismissively. “I understand why you did. And I will miss you when I’m sent away. If you’d like though, I’ll work on Myles to let me bring you with us, or at least bring you over after we’ve settled.”

Fina nodded, but there was hesitation in her voice. “Are… you really going to go through with this?”

Zelda smiled ruefully, her eyes on her partially closed door. “If getting me out of Hyrule is what it takes to feel safe enough to enter my own room, then yes. I will go through with this. He doesn’t seem like the worst choice, anyway. His reputation didn’t seem to match his personality, and for now, that’s enough. I’ll see what more I can figure out about him.”

“Princess,” Link said, opening the door the rest of the way. The Master Sword was away, and her mind immediately eased.

“Thank you, Link.”

He nodded and gestured to the hall. “I’ll patrolling out here and the floor above for the rest of the night, if you need me for anything.”

Zelda felt a tight knot in her stomach as she watched him leave for his patrol, and she pulled Fina inside to help her out of the dirty clothes she’d been wearing. She sat in the warm tub for some time, getting all the grime of travelling and farm life off of her, despite missing it terribly. It seemed so much simpler than her life now.

Though it wasn’t quite nighttime, Zelda opted to put her sleeping gown on with a robe, not planning to leave the comfort of her familiar room for the rest of the night.

She was glad that she’d been left alone for some privacy, especially when her thoughts turned less than princess-like to her travesty of relationship turmoil. Perhaps it was just that she’d been deprived of any male companionship for some time so her thoughts had a habit of drifting to them, or perhaps she simply enjoyed indulging herself in some internal pleasure when the external world was little more than misery for her. The two men who’d barreled into her life seemed determined to uproot it in some way, and she had no idea what she’d done to earn any of their attentions. And now, she was met with a third that she couldn’t figure out just yet.

Lorcan came to mind first. She was worried for him after the attack he’d suffered, but she knew if anyone could pull through it, it would be Lorcan. He had a near animalistic fight in him, and that extended to his will to live. A few years back, when she’d just turned eighteen, he’d been injured while they were together, and she’d seen it then. She could still remember watching him balancing on one good leg, the other contorted and broken, while he fought off a handful of enemies alone.

He was always the less controlled of the two brothers. Even when she was a young girl of 16, Link had been—at the time—the carefree one who’d been willing to laugh with her or follow her on adventures. When he’d realized his destined roles were nearing, he began to pull away from her in small, sharp, controlled actions that culminated in one carefully executed plot to rid himself of a royal marriage once and for all. He had always been controlled.

Lorcan had been wild from the day they’d met. When she’d seen him for the first time, it was a rather indecent moment in a lake that seemed to define the rest of their relationship. Though she’d once fallen for him in her own way, she knew that they had a purely physical relationship. She’d never even known his favorite food. He was a being who acted on instincts alone. Control was never his thing. And if there was one instinct that every human had, it was to stay alive.

That had her mind switching gears, as she began to think of Link, and how he was patrolling somewhere just outside her door. She’d seen his instinct to stay alive manifest very differently from Lorcan’s. His had been self-preservation, a desire to keep his freedom.

She could still remember him before then, when he’d still had some of his childish innocence left in him before it had been carved out of him by the life he’d chosen.

_“Zelda!” he’d called, hurrying over to her. She stopped and watched him skid to a halt. “You called for me?”_

_She grinned and leaned against the wall. “I did. I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together later? There’s supposed to be a shower of moon tears. I didn’t know if you wanted to watch with me.”_

_He nodded, a little too hastily to be considered casual. “Sure. Where should I meet you?”_

_Her first instinct had been to say the observatory. Obviously, that would be the best place to view them. But they would be inside a crowded room filled with everyone’s eyes torn between them and the moon tears. She didn’t want that._

_“The garden has a nice clear spot near the fountain. Think you can get there when it gets dark? Or are you going to get lost?”_

_He let out a nervous laugh and pulled at his neck. “No, I’ll find you.”_

_“Okay. I have to go,” Zelda said, motioning to the castle. “I have a lesson. But… I’ll see you later.”_

_And later, when she’d pushed her way through the shrubbery, she’d found him waiting at the fountain, earlier than either of them had planned. Though it was dark out, it was still too early to even see too many of the stars._

_“I… uh… I came here early so I wouldn’t get lost on you.”_

_It had Zelda smiling, and she gestured to the grass where they both laid down to watch the sky. And soon after, she could see him watching her, not the stars. She turned to look at him as well, caught with the way the night sky reflected off him, casting mysterious shadows and lighting his eyes where they kept darting to her lips._

_Zelda had leaned over him, propped up on her elbows, her hair falling over her shoulder as she looked down at him._

_He swallowed hard but found his hand on her arm. “I’ve never… I haven’t kissed anyone before,” he admitted, sheepishly._

_“Me either.”_

_He licked his dry lips and tried to slow his beating heart before she brought her lips against his. It was quick, chaste, awkwardly ending with both of them breaking into nervous laughter._

_But when the nerves finally started to fade, they ran with the giddy energy that was left between them, and Link sat up, meeting her in the middle as they kissed again. And again._

_They’d gotten in a fair amount of ‘practice,’ as they jokingly called it between themselves, that night, missing most of the moon’s tears, lost in each other instead. They’d done nothing more than kiss, but it had left her breathless with swollen lips, and they both had to wear long clothes the next few days to hide some of the accidental marks they’d made on the other once they’d begun experimenting with more than simple, closed mouthed kisses._

That boy was different from the man she knew now. Though she could see his old humor come through every now and then in the way he joked with her. And she could feel his gentleness in his actions, despite his fierce warrior persona. While he could kill a man in her hallway with his bare hands, those same hands could pluck every shard of glass from her skin.

She could almost feel his calloused hands on her now.

When she finally came to, she looked around her empty room and let out a sigh.

Heading into her washroom, she splashed some water on her face and cleaned up a bit, going so far as to tie her hair into an intricate fishtail that she thought didn’t look _too_ bad without assistance.

She tugged her robe tighter and steeled her resolve before opening her door, spotting Link on the other end of the hall.

He started to hurry, but she held out a hand to let him know she was fine, and he slowed his pace before reaching her.

“What can I do for you?”

“Nothing,” she said. “I was just thinking.”

“About me?” he joked.

“Yes, actually,” she admitted. “Remember our first kiss?”

A small smile tugged his lips and he leaned casually against the wall. “No. No, it was so horrible that I’ve repressed the memory.”

“Thanks,” she snorted, rolling her eyes.

He nudged her lightly with his arm, careful to pull away from her just as quickly as he brushed up against her. “It was a fun night.”

“We were happy at one time. Sometimes, I forget.”

He hummed. “Teenagers in love are always happy.”

“Strange that we weren’t always horrible to each other.”

He nodded ruefully. “Until I slept with damn near half the women in the Hyrule just to run from my responsibilities.”

She chuckled. _How_ was she able to chuckle at his infidelity now when it had hurt her so badly before?

“And until I slept with your brother. I’m not sure which of us is worse.”

He sucked in a breath. “As much as I’d love to say you were, at least you’ve always done what was best for Hyrule. You were prepared to marry me, even tried to make it right with me when I was just… the worst. Now, you’re still doing it, just with Prince Ward.”

But Zelda shrugged. “I don’t know, Link. I know he’ll help us with troops, but part of me wants to get out of here. I just want to feel _safe_ , and Hyrule doesn’t make me feel that way anymore.”

She felt Link subconsciously lean closer to her. “I can keep you safe. Here. In Hyrule.”

“I’m not your full-time job, Link, and I shouldn’t have to be. Besides, you and Lorcan were _just_ attacked because of me.”

“I’m fine, and my father probably already got a fairy to Lorcan. He’ll be fine, too.”

“Write to me sometime when I’m gone, okay?”

“Your father is wrong, Zelda. Sending you away is _wrong_.”

She tried not to let herself feel anything at all. She didn’t want to look at his scrunched-up brow or read into his words. “It’s the only thing I can do to prove to my father that I can contribute something to this kingdom. If it keeps those fanatics away from me, and out of Hyrule, I’m going to do it.”

“Nothing I say can change your beliefs,” he said, looking off to the side, almost red. “But if you’re ever allowed to call us over, I’ll be there if you need me.”

Before she could stop herself, she found herself grabbing his hand, choking on a breath as she let her fingers trace down his palms before threading them with his. “Thank you.”

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before relaxing a bit as they stayed in the hallway together, talking like old friends, but not letting go until much, much later in the night.


	10. Chapter 10

“So,” Prince Ward said, walking beside Zelda, hand-in-hand as they wandered through a secluded path in Hyrule Field. “How are you handling things? Me, specifically.”

Zelda shrugged. “I think you’re kind.”

“You think I’m old,” he laughed. And it was true, he wasn’t in his twenties anymore. She wasn’t sure if he was in his thirties and simply looked a fair bit older, or if he truly _was_ older. It was absolutely _not_ the thought she wanted to dwell on.

Zelda felt surprisingly bold around him. “I don’t think you’re old. But I did assume my father would match me with someone around my own age.”

“Like the knight you were meant to marry?”

She cleared her throat anxiously. “Yes.”

Ward—or Myles, as he kept reminding Zelda—helped her over a rock that obstructed the path. “While I cannot change my age, I can assure you that I will not hurt you. I am still shocked by how your father spoke to you.”

“He speaks that way to most people, so I wouldn’t be concerned on my behalf if I were you.”

“Ahh,” he cooed. “But here is where you are wrong. You are my future wife, and I _am_ concerned for your safety and wellbeing.”

Zelda’s breath caught as she thought of Link. _“I can keep you safe. Here. In Hyrule.”_

“Thank you,” she said politely, folding her hands together. “I don’t feel safe in Hyrule anymore. My favorite guard… my…” she choked on a sob that came up from nowhere. “His name was Tydus. He was like…” She coughed to hide the noise in her throat. “Sorry. I don’t have many fond memories of Hyrule these days. If I forget myself… I start thinking about people like Tydus…my mother…these assassins…it only helps to think of other people or other places. I let those thoughts distract me. It helps.”

Ward urged her to sit down on a log. “I lost my father when I was fairly young, and as you know, my mother is dying. I can understand entirely why you’d long for an escape. I find myself doing it as well.”

She moved her hair from her face. “Myles, surely you have someone you've charmed back home.”

“Have I charmed you, Zelda?”

She chuckled and shook her head. “I am easily charmed by kind words and actions. It’s a human virtue that I value. But I don’t look to be charmed; I look to find someone I trust implicitly. And to this day, I don’t know of one living person in my life I can say that about. Tydus was my person, and he paid the price for it.”

“Then I shall strive to be that person in your life.”

“I look forward to you _trying_ ,” she grinned.

He laughed at her expression and continued down the path.

For once, Zelda didn’t hate the idea of potentially marrying him. He didn’t seem to be the worst option, and she _knew_ some of the options out there. There were far, far worse.

They made their way along a secluded road. There was the rush of a waterfall in the distance that had Zelda stopping short when she realized where they were. It brought back old memories, _fond_ memories that she enjoyed.

It was the place that she’d first found her escape.

_The Princess had been on one of her ‘secret’ adventures outside of the castle. It was well known by Tydus, who would occasionally trail her for safety. She’d caught him once, and didn’t know how often he truly found out about her trips, but she’d rather not have thought about that. These little rebellious adventures were her only bouts of freedom._

_And today, she was in desperate need of privacy. Today, her thoughts swirled around the disgusting excuse for a man called Link. But even in her darkest thoughts of him, her nightmares where she could all but see him lying in bed with a new face each night, she could still remember how good he’d been to her before. How he’d understood her in a way no others had. How he’d just know what to say to her._

_Perhaps that knowledge was how he’d managed to drive that knife of betrayal in so deep._

_She heard the rumble of a waterfall, and her feet followed the noise. It was one of the few things that she knew would drown out her thoughts and allow her some peace._

_The trail wasn’t steep enough to make her sweat, but she had a mind to take a quick dip into the lake that she knew pooled under the waterfall before rushing away._

_But as she cleared the bend, she saw a man already in the water, nude._

_She wrestled with two basic parts of herself. One was respect and decency. Of course she ought to turn away and avert her eyes. She should alert him to her presence so he might cover up or find his clothes. She should not invade this poor, strange man’s privacy in such a lewd way._

_Another basic part of her burned though: curiosity._

_Partially, it was from an academic desire to know things, to never be left confused by something. And male anatomy certainly eluded her. _

_The most she’d been taught had been the first time she’d bled, when she’d been given a very basic education so as not to spoil the Princess’ innocence. But her other lesson had been when she’d first been betrothed to Link. Her tutors sat her down and explained the very scientific mechanics behind copulation and conception, warning her against either by attempting to scare her out of it. _

_But she’d found anatomy books in the library, and she already knew that the basic sketches of women weren’t true to form, so a hungry curiosity begged her to answer whether men were similar to the books she’d read._

_And beyond all that, she was simply a teenaged girl. The less dignified part of her won the war._

_She crossed her arms and felt mildly relieved that all she could see of the hapless subject of her voyeurism was his backside. Until, of course, he eventually turned around._

_The man gasped and cursed rather loudly, covering himself up and making a mad scramble for his clothes. Zelda couldn’t bring herself to look any longer, shamed by her own actions._

_Perhaps it was how Link felt when she’d confronted him about his... misdeeds._

_“Princess,” the man stuttered when he’d at least pulled his trousers on. “I’m so sorry. I was just… I didn’t know I’d have company at this hour.”_

_“No, forgive me. I was in a bit of shock, I think, when I saw you. I should have announced myself in some way.”_

_He pushed back his mop of blonde hair and she was met by familiar, striking blue eyes. He glanced over at where she stood and pulled his shirt on. “No, I’m not concerned for me. Frankly, I couldn’t care less who sees me. Unless, of course, that person is the future monarch of our kingdom. Then it’s mildly embarrassing.” He looked behind her. “No guards coming to smite me, are they, Majesty?”_

_“No,” she said, sighing. “Not today.”_

_The man smirked. “You shouldn’t tell people that. What if I were a murderer?”_

_“Then I suppose I’d be dead.”_

_“Not necessarily. What if I simply enjoyed your conversation too much before killing you?”_

_Zelda snickered. “You’d be the chattiest murderer I’ve ever met. Besides, that regulation sword near your clothes tells me that you’re a Hylian soldier, not a bandit or a midnight thug.”_

_He nodded, almost impressed. “Well, if you wanted to use this waterfall… or something… I’ll guard you.”_

_Zelda smiled, but it was halfhearted. “I thought you were a murderer?”_

_“Not when I’m talking to the Princess of Hyrule.”_

_“You look familiar. Do I know you?”_

_He chuckled. “I look familiar? I didn’t realize you knew who I was just based on…what you saw.”_

_Her cheeks flushed at his implication and she had to turn away, laughing nervously. “No, no, I mean your face, obviously. Your face is familiar.”_

_The man finally finished pulling on his boots and strode over to her. He was tall and muscular. A sword on his belt and his natural stance had her deducing that he was a knight. “I know, Princess. I was teasing you. Wrongfully so, given who you are, but given some stories I've heard, I feel I somewhat know you.”_ _He looked her over with a guarded look. “I’m acquainted with someone you know. I should look a little familiar.”_

_Her eyes were on his arms, and she had to remember to bring them to his face. He was older… he had to be. No sensible 16 or 17-year-old would look that way. Even Link didn’t have quite the muscle…_

_“Link.”_

_He looked just like Link._

_“My brother. My idiot brother. I heard what happened. I’m so sorry for you, and I’m sorry on his behalf as well. You deserve better.”_

_“Oh Gods strike me now. Are you Lyal or Lorcan?”_

_“Lorcan, Your Majesty. It’s an honor and a pleasure to finally meet you, despite the unusual circumstances of our meeting.”_

_Zelda ran her hands through her hair. “I came out here to stop thinking about your brother, and I run into you! The Goddess truly hates me.”_

_He gave a short laugh, one not entirely humorous, but laced with genuine sorrow for her from the knowledge of Link's actions, “Your birthday is soon, right? Let me give you the gift of privacy. I’ll keep anyone off this road for you so you can enjoy the water.”_

_“You’ll cheat to get back at me, won’t you?”_

_Lorcan scoffed. “No, Princess. I’m not my brother: I don’t cheat.”_

_That had Zelda smiling, that someone in the world was on her side. “In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer, Lorcan. Thank you.”_

“Zelda?” Prince Ward asked, gently shaking her. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, sorry. I was just lost in a memory of this place. Let’s continue, it was just fleeting.”

“What was the memory?”

Zelda shrugged dismissively. “It was the first time I was able to forget a few things that I just didn’t want to remember.”

* * *

When Zelda returned to the castle, she briefly ran upstairs to change into something more comfortable, managing to grab Fina from her chores to take a new walk around the castle as she recounted her day with _Myles_ , which Fina refused to refer to him by.

“Perhaps I am deluding myself and he's actually a horrible man, too. Or maybe he's not, and there are a few good men left in this world. Of course, he's after a power grab, but there's no one who would marry me who _isn't_ , so how can I blame him? I don’t know if he’s sincere in his attitude towards me, but it’s a breath of fresh air to know I can get away from my father. ”

Fina nodded, though her place was never to speak out against the king.

Zelda knew she shouldn’t expect any response, so she kept talking. “Perhaps when I’m there, I can finally have some say in my own life or how a kingdom is run. I might even feel like a person again. Without being available as a bartering chip for my father and Hyrule, I can start to have a life of my own. This marriage might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I’m glad for you, then. I know how you’ve struggled with… other aspects of potential marriages, so I pray to the Goddess that this is an entirely good situation for you.”

Zelda wrapped her arm through Fina’s, holding on as she spoke. “I am a bit concerned though. I’m not attracted to Myles. I hate that he’s older. I’d much prefer to be with someone closer in age to me. And I thought that the few years between Lorcan and I was a slight issue; now, my father decides to pair me with someone significantly older.”

“Focus on his personality. You said you liked him in that regard.”

As if she’d done it subconsciously, she’d found them on the parapets overlooking the training yard.

Her eyes immediately found Link, as if some force always drew her eye to him. Not only that, but he was one of the few male soldiers who was running traditional endurance exercises with a shirt on. It was fairly hot outside at this hour, and she expected that working out in the heat was torturous.

She leaned along the edge to watch him. “I can’t help but admit that I wish Myles looked like Link.”

Fina crossed her arms and chuckled. “You do have a general type of appearance you seem to appreciate most.”

Zelda shot Fina an amused glare. “Harsh.” But she sighed. “I should break it off with Myles and just swear off men entirely. I hate men. I hate them all. They’re hideous. I’ll just tell myself that until it’s true. Fina, you’d marry me instead, right? We can run away and work on a farm like Eilda?”

“Of course, Princess,” she laughed.

“Is it so superficial of me to think this way about Myles?”

But Fina put her hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “No. It’s a marriage of convenience. You don't really know him, and it’s completely understandable that you’d prefer _someone else’_ s looks.”

“It’s not just their looks, Fina. It’s both of them. It’s how they make me feel. It’s different around them both, like one of them knows the real me and the other knows who I wish I were. Neither sees me as the trading piece that my father sees. And even Myles knows that’s what I am to my father. I’m a means to an end. No powers, but still a desirable name.”

“You will get your powers, Princess. Something will spark that fire, and the Goddess will have no choice but to accept that the time has come for you to inherit your birthright.”

Zelda took a deep breath and gave Fina a look that screamed her disbelief in that statement before heading down the indoor steps to reach the training yard.

She ran her hand along the stone walls. “I used to come here just to visit Tydus.”

“I remember.”

“He’d come with me, no matter what Myles said.” She laughed to herself, feeling a tear sting her eye. “He wouldn’t have taken no for an answer, even if it meant sneaking across a kingdom.”

“He’s with the Goddess, watching out for you still.”

Zelda saw Link heading towards them. “Is he?” Zelda mused before Link could hear them.

When he finally reached them, he leaned against the wall. “You’re back. How was your outing?”

She caught the bitterness in his voice. “It was good. Uneventful.”

“His guards are to your standards, then?”

Zelda shrugged. “I don’t know. I barely saw them. They followed at quite a distance, unlike you.”

“Sorry,” he halfheartedly chuckled. “I’ll stay further back until I’m dismissed.”

“No, Link.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying that they’re different.”

“Do you trust them?”

She made a face. “I don’t know. I trust you far more.”

That stopped him, and he stared at her intently. “Do you?”

She grinned, surprised herself as well. “Oddly enough, yes.”

Link nodded, trying—and failing—to keep a smile off his face. “To hear you say that means more than you know.” They both stared at each other for a long moment, forgetting Fina was there, before Link regained himself first. “I had word from Lorcan. He’s up and doing better. He’s been given an extra week off before they’ll be assigning him any new post.”

“That’s good. His injuries really had me nervous.”

Link hummed in agreement. “Me too. Lucky my father was there. He got Lorcan a fairy.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

“And… I was given my new assignment for when you leave.”

Zelda stilled. “Where?”

Link smiled to himself. “Actually, my sister requested me for something, so I’ll be heading to the northern border.”

His conflicted excitement was clear and palpable. Zelda cursed herself, but she grabbed Link’s arm and gave it a light squeeze. “How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”

He scoffed and shook his head, thinking. “In person? Probably Lyal’s funeral. I don’t think I’ve seen her since.”

“I’m happy you’ll get to see her again. Tell her I said hello and that I wish I’d met her.”

“I will. I’m not leaving until after you do, though. And if you find a way and want me, I’d still come with you.”

“You, _Hyrule’s_ Hero, are not going to be allowed to come with me, and you know it, regardless if I can convince anyone to let me bring my own people.”

He hummed again, though his hand went to her sleeve, picking a small green remnant from their walk off her, then returning his hand, as if there were more. But all she could feel was him absently thumbing the fabric. Her eyes darted to Fina, who just watched with a sad expression for Zelda’s sake.

“Link,” she whispered, breaking him from his trance. As he dropped his hand, his fingers ran along her arm, and she felt her heart clench.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I just wanted to let you know about Lorcan. I’m on the late watch tonight, so I’ll be outside your room for the night. I have to go get some rest.”

“Would you mind if I bother you later for a while again?”

He smiled, one that was simultaneously pained, excited, and soft all at once. “We do have a conversation about high quality cheese to finish from the other night, don’t we?”

“I was so tired,” she laughed. “I just couldn’t.”

He offered her a bow before backing up. “Until later then.”

“Bye,” she muttered before turning to Fina’s accusatory stare.

“What was that about?”

But all Zelda could do was watch Link walk away.

Fina snorted. “No wonder you want Prince Ward to look like Link.”

“Oh Fina,” Zelda sighed, her head in her hands. “I wish my father weren’t rushing everything. I wish I could have a say in some of this. I want to make the best of a poor situation, but no matter what I do, I lose. And I’m so tired of losing.”

Fina grabbed Zelda’s hand and squeezed. “Then perhaps it’s time to start taking control. You’re the Princess of Hyrule. You were born to lead, not to follow.”

“My father…” Zelda ran her hands through her hair, “I can’t disobey him. He’ll have me killed.” 

Zelda wanting nothing in the world more than to have a father who actually wanted her, who wanted her to be happy, and who would support her taking charge of her destiny.

But that wasn’t _her_ father. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, I managed to give all three of these guys a scene in the same chapter. That was not my original intent but I'm here for it. I'm not sorry that Zelda is still struggling with all these guys here, or that she's always been thirsty for her two knights, but I am sorry to Zelda that I made Prince Ward older. I was channeling history for that one.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda is neither excited, or apathetic about her wedding, but that's about to change.

Several days later, Zelda found herself sitting on her bed in a shift and a face full of makeup. There were dozens of ladies fussing over her, preparing her hair, fixing her looks, readying her clothes, her veil, her crown.

It was her wedding day.

Her father had called the most important people together for the event, and they’d arrived swiftly. It was the first royal wedding for some of them, and they were more than eager to be prompt and attentive.

She’d been properly stuffed into a long, fitted, white dress with a train and a veil just as long. Her crown went under the veil, and she had more makeup on than usual. But still, she had to admit, she felt beautiful.

There were several servants who said she looked just like her mother, that there was a distinguished way she held herself or carried herself that reminded them of the late Queen. She wanted to imagine it was true, but she doubted her mother had been in the same predicament, or the same mind space as she had been.

It was only when Fina lightly grabbed her shoulder that she even realized she’d finished getting ready and was sitting on the bed, much to the displeasure of some of her ladies who were talking about wrinkles.

“Princess, Link would like to come in and discuss your security details for the day.”

Zelda nodded. “Right. Give us a moment, please.”

“Very good,” Fina said with a bow, ushering everyone else out until Zelda sat alone on the bed.

It was only when Zelda heard the creak of her door that she stood up, met with Link’s face. His mouth had dropped open, cutting off the word “Princess” before he could get it all out. His eyes raked over her, and when they finally met hers, they were sad.

“Do you wish it had been you?” she asked boldly.

Link took a shaky step forward and bit his lip as he debated answering her honestly. And he found himself nodding.

“I regret it all. I wish we’d met when we were older. I just… I didn’t have the emotional maturity to handle the weight of it all.”

“But you do now?”

He found himself taking another step towards her, breaching the acceptable personal bubble. “If given the opportunity, I would have, yes.”

“Unfortunately, too late.”

“Yeah.” Link took a breath and stepped back again. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

He nodded. “Well, we need to discuss security. Prince Ward has his own people, and he’s offered to supply a few for you, unless you’d rather have Hylians, then I’m in charge.”

“Oh, Hylians,” she said quickly. “I’d rather trust your judgement anyway. You know what threats we’re facing.”

Link bowed. “I’ll be with you then. Prince Ward has requested that once you’re married and after the gathering, that we start to back off. He’d rather…”

“What?”

“Your wedding night,” Link said, getting a bit pale. “He’d rather only have his own guards by then, and from then on.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll keep on a patrol nearby while you’re still in Hyrule. I’ll try to swing past your hall every now and then to make sure they’re doing their jobs.”

“Thank you.”

They stood together in uncomfortable silence before Link shook his head. “Listen, I have something for you. It’s not entirely appropriate of me, but I wanted you to have it anyway.”

Zelda found herself smirking. “Not appropriate how, exactly?”

He snorted as he pulled something from his back pocket. “Not _that_ _kind_ of inappropriate. Just, not fit for this situation. But I got it for you years ago and then… well… you know.”

He handed her a small bag, fidgeting as he did. She grinned, finding small pleasure in his nerves.

Untying the bag, she tipped it and felt a small broach in the shape of a shield drop into her hand. It was a Hylian shield, complete with her family’s symbol engraved into it. She flipped it and examined a few Old Hylian symbols etched into the back. She gasped and looked back up at Link.

He shuffled around. “I would never usually give this to you knowing you’re getting married, but I figured since you’re leaving Hyrule, it was all I had to give. I had it made for you after you gave me my knife.”

She let her thumb run over the words. “’My Soul.’”

He chuckled and crossed his arms. “I wanted you to stop trying to convince me that my engraving was an accident.”

Zelda laughed. “Oh you knew? I used to think it was such a good excuse. We were such saps, weren’t we?”

He pulled his knife from his boot and glanced at it before waving it around. “I still carry it. I’m not sure I ever grew out of being a sap about you.”

She held out her hand and he dropped the knife into it, remembering the day fondly.

_“Link?” Zelda said, knocking on his door._

_He hurried over, pulling it open with a grin. “Zelda.”_

_She flashed him a smile and strode into his room, her guards stopping the door from shutting behind her. She didn’t seem to notice, and instead threw herself down on Link’s bed, bouncing a few times as if to test its comfort._

_Link watched her, trying to push any thoughts of her in his bed doing anything less savory out of his mind. She was the picture of innocence right now, and he felt like such a teenager as he scratched his neck._

_“Tydus tells me you won’t be here for your anniversary celebration. It’s literally for you. How do they think that they can send you away on a celebration that’s in your honor?”_

_Link finally joined her on the bed, sitting a comfortable distance away from her, leaning against the headboard as he tried to avoid touching her, lest his mind wander. “I pulled the Master Sword out to use it, not to celebrate the day. I have to go to Ludfo’s Bog with the next deployment. Your people found a camp on Mount Rhoam, so we have to clear them all. It’s going to be all muddy and just… not fun. I’d rather fight on a field than in a bog.”_

_“Are you nervous?”_

_He just shook his head and pulled his knee up to his chest, wrapping his fingers around it as he stared at her worried expression. “I do this all the time, ever since I pulled the Master Sword. I’ll be with Lyal, too, if that makes you feel better.”_

_“Kind of. You’ve boasted about his skill enough that I should think he’s got your back.”_

_“He always does.”_

_“Good.” She smiled and glanced at the door before pulling something from her pocket. “Since you won’t be here though, I figured I’d give you my gift now.”_

_She held it out for him, and he took it with a sigh. “You didn’t have to, you know. It’s not that big a deal.”_

_“Take it and get over it, Link,” she laughed. “So, okay, there’s an inscription in Old Hylian. I don’t know if you can read it.”_

_“I read Old Hylian. Most of your Knights can, just so you know. Old war strategy books are usually in Old Hylian.”_

_“I didn’t realize,” Zelda said with an intrigued look on her face as she watched him peel away the brown paper the gift was wrapped in. “Well, I didn’t tell them what to write. It just happened to be how they interpreted this. So, don’t freak out or anything.”_

_He made a face and peeled the rest of the parchment and string to reveal a small knife made of expensive steel. The handle was wrapped in leather that felt so comfortable in his grip, it was like he’d gone to the blacksmith himself to request it. There were etched designs in the side, but he noticed the engraved words on the blade itself. Like she said, Old Hylian symbols, small, but clear._

_“Wow,” he muttered, holding the fine, expensive knife closer to read the inscription. “’My heart?’” he asked, looking up at her._

_“You don’t need to overthink it. You can pretend it means that you get to stab people in the heart with it, or something. It’s… it’s strange. I get it.”_

_That had Link laughing as he looked it over. “No, I love it. Thank you.”_

_“Yeah. Of course.” She started to fiddle with her necklace, drawing Link’s eye._

_He glanced at the door and set the knife down before grabbing Zelda’s wrist and pulling her off the bed with him and into the corner, out of sight from the guards before kissing her._

_It was slow, gentle, and he pulled away to whisper ‘thank you’ again before returning to her lips with a little more vigor._

_It wasn’t the first time she found her lips parting for him. She ran her fingers through his hair, and she felt his hands on her waist, pulling her as close to him as the world would allow._

_She heard herself let out a content sound, and Link pulled away, grinning. “They’re right there. We have to be quiet.” _

_“Too quiet and they’ll be suspicious,” she giggled, pulling him back to her._

_Link’s fingers sank into her hips, like she was his grip on reality. They were both lost in a leisurely, exploratory kiss, still fairly new to the whole experience._

_“Princess?” a voice from the hall called._

_Zelda jumped, jerking forward in fear. The movement shoved half her tongue into Link’s mouth, practically down his throat, and he pulled away with a cough before breaking out into mad laughter. She found herself joining him, mortified, but less so simply because it was Link._

_He held her closer, refusing to let her pull away in embarrassment._

_“Are you alright?” The guard asked, entering the room and looking at them both._

_Zelda glanced behind her, holding Link just as tightly as he held her. “Yes, I’m fine! I tripped.”_

_“Okay, Princess,” he said unconvincingly. But he left the room, having checked on her and doing his job._

_The lie had them laughing harder until they’d collapsed onto the ground, still clutching each other until they were finally able to catch their breaths again._

She looked at Link fondly, but her rational brain criticized her. She was about to be married.

Very soon.

“If only we’d been different back then,” she muttered, running her thumb over the broach. “I love this. Thank you.”

Link nodded. “I genuinely wish you the happiest of marriages. I’ll be outside your door to escort you whenever you’re ready to head down.”

She cleared her throat and looked around. Fina had to be outside the door waiting.

“I’m ready now. Let’s not keep everyone waiting.”

* * *

Married.

Zelda didn’t feel any different. Maybe a bit queasier at the thought, but no different internally. A few words. A vow. A kiss. They did nothing to change her internally. So as she and Prince Ward made their way to the grand ballroom ceremony, she felt quite normal.

Until she saw Link, proper and a mask of trained indifference on his face, betrayed only by his watchful eyes on her. And worse. Beside him.

Lorcan.

Zelda’s grip on her husband’s arm tightened as she struggled under the—dare she think it— _hurt_ gazes of the brothers.

She spent most of the night with Myles, entertaining the room. But her eyes were constantly darting to her two guards on the edge of the room.

It hurt her to admit it, but she felt relief when she could no longer find Lorcan, like he’d been an apparition of her mind the entire time.

But relief was _not_ what she felt when Link appeared beside her and Prince Ward.

“Your Majesties,” he said coolly, bowing. “May I request a dance with the Princess?”

Zelda’s cheeks heated up and her hand automatically reached for Link’s, but she hesitated, glancing at Myles.

“You were the knight meant to marry her, correct? The Hero of Hyrule? The one who brought her shame?”

Link kept his gaze level. “Yes, that was me. I was a foolish teenager and have attempted to begin making amends for my incorrigible behavior. But given that the Princess will be leaving Hyrule, this is my last chance to atone for my actions.”

Zelda bit back a smile. If there was one thing Link never used around her, it was his formal training. He’d been highly educated in etiquette when he’d first come to the castle. And generally, she liked his rugged natural persona more, even when he was younger. He rarely brought out the formality to the degree he was laying it on Prince Ward. It was everything from the perfect spacing of his fingers clasping his hands, the straightness of his spine that tipped back slightly, bringing up his chin. The tone of his voice.

Prince Ward looked at her and nodded. “It is her decision, but I have no objections, seeing as this is likely the last time you will get to see her.” A threat, unveiled and spiteful. So, Myles did have that little kick royals had after all.

Zelda took Link’s hand and followed him into the center of the room, pulling her close.

“What are you doing?” she asked when they were close enough together that no one would hear them.

“Saying goodbye,” Link said wistfully, letting his fingers tighten on her waist.

Zelda felt acutely aware of his hand in hers, and the way they moved in perfect sync on the dancefloor, regardless of the eyes on them. There was a sadness to every step, a feeling that it was all going to end.

And eventually, neither of them could draw out their long, silent moment together any longer.

She’d been pulled into every dance partner, and several times over into the arms of Prince Ward. Her father’s eyes were ever-watchful, carefully gauging her actions and reactions to every single thing she did. His advisors surrounded him, pointing out several guests who were at the event. She couldn’t even imagine what he was planning, but it didn’t matter. She was being sent off anyway.

Guests left, emptying the hall, and she made her way to her… well… to _a_ bedroom in the palace, one she would share with her new husband.

Shame filled her as she imagined she was lying with Link or Lorcan and not the Prince she’d just married.

It was several hours after they’d fallen asleep as far from each other as possible that Zelda opened her eyes in the darkness. Her thoughts pounded at her head. How she’d just been _married_ , without Prince Ward having any claim to Hyrule for at least another year. It was unheard of. But he’d been willing to do it to get her out of there… to get her away from her father. Was that not the sign of a good person?

Or perhaps he wanted to secure the throne early. Perhaps this was not goodwill, but a selfishness that rivaled even the king’s? Perhaps she had just trapped herself in a web that she could never untangle?

She was jolted from her thoughts when she heard a noise… entirely unfamiliar and strange to her ears. She turned to see if Myles was okay.

And there was a body standing over him, clad in the tight assassin’s garb she’d become too familiar with. It was a muscular man, and he wore and a mask that obscured his face. But more than that, he was holding a knife, dripping droplets of blood down onto the wide-eyed, empty expression of Prince Ward as he stared up at the ceiling.

Zelda shrieked and headed for the door but was immediately cut off by the assassin. Her only other escape was a deadly drop out the window. So she found herself backing into the corner of the room, feeling entirely exposed in her nightgown, like they could see every single vulnerable piece of skin to dig the knife into and end her, as they’d been trying to for some time.

The man held his finger up, as if to caution her to remain quiet. She couldn’t scream again if she wanted to. Her body had shut down the instant she’d been cornered. As she pressed further into the wall, the man closed the gap between them, his knife went to Zelda’s throat, just light pressure, a threat against movement. Myles' blood dripped off the knife and down her neck, staining her nightgown as the assassin's body, which had been covered in the spatter of Myles' blood, transferred a large stain onto her. And then he ran the back of his hand along Zelda’s cheek, too tender and affectionate, she felt her entire body start to shake.

But the door burst open, and Link was inside. He pulled Zelda’s knife from his boot and tossed it, skimming across the man’s hand just enough that he pulled far away from Zelda.

Link didn’t even have time to draw his sword before the man took off out the window, and Link wasted no time. His eyes darted to the bloody bed and Ward’s lifeless corpse before grabbing Zelda’s arms to steady her.

“Hey, hey, come with me, okay? Let’s get you out of this room.”

Zelda nodded, following him without any recognition. She didn’t see Ward’s dead guards on the ground, or notice what hallways they were passing through until she was in the familiarity of her own bedroom. Link grabbed her robe, the one that she wore most often, and she pulled it on, tugging the comforting fabric close.

“What happened?” he finally asked, kneeling in front of her bed while she sat.

“I don’t know,” she breathed. “I woke up and _he_ was there, and Myles was dead. Oh gods, I could have been killed.”

“You have a good scream, you know?” he tried. “I heard it down the hall and came as fast as I could.”

It didn’t calm her, but his poor humor had her comfortable around him, if nothing else.

“Was that L… Lorne? Is that who you were fighting before?”

Link shrugged. “I didn’t get a good look. It might have been.” He placed a comforting hand on her arm. “When you’re okay enough, we have to go to your father, though. A royal was just murdered. He has to know.”

She grabbed his arm, still shaking.

_Murdered_. She was a widow.

“Okay, yeah… let’s go.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link deals with the immediate aftermath of the attack on Prince Ward and Zelda, and he struggles to reconcile his past with his present. Zelda is shaken from her close call.

Link stared at Zelda while she slept in her room. Once he’d gotten her in there, he’d promised to stay with her, even while the rest of the castle guards were searching for her husband’s murderer. But his place was here, beside her.

It really always had been.

He watched her short, rapid breaths. He could tell she was having a nightmare, but he wasn’t sure if he should wake her. She’d need sleep, even if it was a restless one.

He needed to find Lorcan. He needed to find his father. He needed to be surrounded by other knights that he could rely on. He _needed_ so much that _he_ was restless. So much so that his thoughts drifted back to his youth, to his mistakes, to everything that could have prevented Zelda from feeling this right now. He let his head fall in his hand, clutching desperately at his hair, remembering his foolish youth, his inability to think for himself, and his fear.

_Link sat in the tavern surrounded by fellow Knights, but none so vocal as his closest friend at the time, the one closest in age to him, despite that age gap being ten years older, a soldier nicknamed Brun._

_Brun leaned forward, pushing a tankard of ale towards Link. “Drink it all down and then just do it.”_

_Link chugged the drink, but his feet didn’t move. “I can’t. I can’t do it.”_

_Brun scoffed. “I never pegged the Goddess’ Chosen one as a coward.”_

_“Honor is cowardice?” Link countered._

_“Living some fluffy royal life when you’re meant to be with us in the trenches is cowardice. Being forced into a life that you don’t want because you’re too afraid to say no is cowardice. You want to be a father at seventeen? They’ll make sure you are the second you two get married. That king will stand in your bedroom until you’re a father. You know he will. He’s insane.”_

_“It’s also insane to speak treasonous thoughts aloud,” Link warned in a hush, no matter how much they unnerved him._

_Brun leaned forward and whacked Link’s arm encouragingly. “These girls are smarter than the royals. Royalty doesn’t want to be careful; they want heirs. But work in a place like this, and yeah, they’re taking a potion. You’ll be free, Link.”_

_Link ran his hands through his hair._

_Brun was getting visibly agitated. “ She’s a frilly, pretty princess. Shove her in a new dress, and she’ll have a new suitor. What you think you feel for her isn’t love. It’s what all kids your age want, and she, as a Princess, won’t be able to give it to you until it’s too late and you’re trapped. Now, this girl here, she wants you. She’s been over here so many times, and she’s close to your age, I think. Maybe mine, but whatever, she’s young. Just go. Let her turn you into a man, kid.”_

_Link reached across the table and took Brun’s drink, downing it in just a few chugs. “I think I do love her though, Brun.”_

_“Fine. Then do you love her, or yourself more? You should always come first. Once this first one is out of the way, the rest will be easier, trust me.”_

_“Trust you? You’ve done this before?”_

_“Might have. But you came up with this idea, kid, not me. I’m just here to help you go through with it”_

_Link’s leg began to bounce anxiously. “I mentioned needing a way out. I mentioned this as an extreme. This isn’t what I wanted.”_

_“The king wants you and your Hero blood to father his grandchild. Just keep remembering that. Remember losing your freedom. You’ll be trapped there. You won’t fight anymore. You’ll have only had one girl your whole life. Grow up, kid. Be a man.”_

_“Is that what this is?” Link muttered, raising his hand for the woman to come back over. She smiled at him, and Link groaned, feeling beet red. “Another, please.”_

_“Sure, honey,” she said, taking the flagon and heading away with a flirty smile on her face._

_“You can do this. Just let yourself have some fun, kid. This isn’t some exercise drill; it’s fun if you loosen up. And if you’re panicking, remember what this marriage is going to take from you. I swear, you’ll feel better in every way when you do this.”_

_“Here you go,” she said, setting Link’s drink down._

_His eyes were drawn to her chest, where he was almost positive that she’d pulled down the neckline of her shirt. She was a brunette with brown eyes. Eyes that would haunt Link once he’d realized what exactly he’d done. The only eyes he could still remember after his long downfall from grace. The ones who’d started it all._

_Before long, he’d fallen too far to even see the top of the hill he’d once stood on, no hope of ever climbing back up, so accepting his new place with resigned contentment. He’d make the best of his new situation. He’d moved from needing to escape his fate, to needing to forget Zelda, and finding every face he could, hoping one would replace hers in his dreams. But it never happened._

She haunted him every day for years. And then he’d been called back to the castle, her life in danger, and he’d been tempted to decline, or to let Lorcan go in his place. But he willingly walked back to the girl who haunted him. And now, she was back to her place at the constant forefront of his mind. And that, mixed with their past… gods, he’d become consumed by it all.

Link’s hand went to his sword when he head the creaking of footsteps in the hall, and then the door creaked open ever so slightly. Link barely relaxed when he saw Lorcan’s head pop into the room.

“Is she alright?” he asked, stepping inside. He still limped a bit from his injuries, but as with the best of knights, he stood tall. The injuries were only noticeable by someone who knew him.

“Not mentally,” Link said, glancing at her. She had sweat pouring off her forehead now. “I don’t know if I should wake her.”

Lorcan made his way over to the bed and sat down, though jostling the mattress did nothing to wake her. “Possibly.”

“She needs to sleep though.”

“Wouldn’t you rather be woken from your nightmares?” Lorcan asked, leaning towards Link in lingering pain. “I would, but mine are real.”

“All of ours are,” Link hissed, glancing at Zelda again. “She lives hers too often. Mine are of a past I destroyed. And yours?”

“A future I’ll never see,” Lorcan said wryly.

Link snorted at his barely veiled message.

“I’ll stay with her, if you want to sleep a bit.”

Though Link was tired, it was nothing he hadn’t felt before. “I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m going to wake her,” Lorcan said, grabbing Zelda’s shoulder before Link could stop him.

Zelda’s scream at the sudden jolt echoed down the hall, and Link hastily went to the door so he could calm the guards who were surely already on their way to her room now.

Lorcan could feel Zelda shake in his arms. “It’s just me. You’re okay.”

It took a while for her eyes to focus, so she scampered back against her headboard, unsure who it was with her bleary-eyed blindness.

She heard the boots thudding against the ground and fumbled around for something.

“Lorcan!” Link called quickly. “Grab her hand!”

Without knowing why, Lorcan held her arms down just in time for a knife to slip out of her fingers as her breathing trembled and a terrified whimper escaped her throat.

But he was so close now that she could see, and she felt herself calm down. “Lorcan?” she breathed, hoping to confirm that she wasn’t imagining things.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

She sank into him, relieved. “Gods, you actually were at the…” her throat closed over the word ‘wedding.’

He nodded. “I tried to come earlier, but I was too late.” And hesitantly, he kissed her.

Zelda didn’t pull away. It was simultaneously something she wanted, and something she absolutely didn’t want all at once. For one, it was familiar. He felt safe. He’d always been her place to go after something horrible had happened, so it felt right to be pressed against him. But she pulled away. Because there was something so wrong, too. Her eyes darted to Link, who did an uncharacteristically poor job masking his hurt.

He noticed her eyes on his and forced himself not to look away. This was the punishment he’d brought on himself. Years in the making, he’d pushed her towards his own brother. And now, when she needed comfort, it wasn’t meant to be his arms. It was Lorcan’s.

“Am I gossip?” Zelda asked in a low whisper. “Is that how you heard?”

Lorcan nodded with a downcast expression on his face. “I’m afraid so.”

“My father is going to have another child in the hopes of replacing me. Is that gossip as well?” Her hands shook, and her mind reeled, unable to stay in one spot.

“I… hadn’t heard that,” Lorcan said, leaning towards Zelda. “I’m sorry.”

His hand reached out to brush her face, but she scampered back, forcefully banging her head against the wooden backboard of her bed before sliding out from under the covers and into the corner, breathing heavily once again, in a total trance where time didn’t exist.

“Lorcan!” Link hissed, returning to them, remembering _his job_ over his feelings. He pulled his brother away, so he could whisper without Zelda hearing. “She just woke up covered in the blood of her dead husband and came face to face with one of those assassins. Have some decency and don’t touch her again.”

“Jealous, brother?” Lorcan whispered back before crashing into Link’s shoulder to return to Zelda.

But Link caught his arm. “No. I’m doing my job. Get out. I wouldn’t even be here if there wasn’t still a threat. Right now, you’re a threat to her. She needs to sleep. Tomorrow will be an inquisition, and she needs rest. You don’t bring rest. So leave. You can see her in the morning.”

“She needs us,” Lorcan hissed.

“She needs no one,” Link countered. “She needs to feel safe. Right now, she doesn’t have that. That’s the _only_ reason I am here. Not because she needs _me_ or _you_ , but because she needs to feel safe.”

“I make her feel safe. She’s told me in the past. When we—”

“Get out,” Link grumbled. “It’s like you’re drunk. You’re being a bastard, Lorcan. Go sleep off this attitude and report back in the morning when she’s awake, if you feel the need.”

Lorcan never liked being given a command by his younger brother. It was perhaps the one thing in the world he hated most about being the brother of the chosen hero: he was expected to follow it without question. And often, it fueled his annoyance and anger even more.

“Fine.”

“Lorcan,” Link said before his brother could disappear down the hallway. “Why are you back?”

Lorcan turned around and held out his hands. “I’m here for _her_. Why do you think? I’m going to go look into the attacker’s identity… _for her_.”

Link shook his head and closed the door before returning to Zelda, kneeling a distance away. “Zelda?”

She didn’t respond, staring blankly at the floor.

“Zelda,” he tried, more firmly.

Her eyes didn’t blink, but she finally spoke. “When I open my eyes, I see him.”

Her eyes were open, but Link didn’t bother pointing that out. “He’s not here. I swear, he’s not here. You can open your eyes.”

Finally blinking, Zelda looked up, finding Link. She swallowed and let out a relieved breath to see that no one was in her space. “Am I the one who gets people killed? Tydus, Myles… who’s next?”

“No one is next, Princess. We’re going to stop this.”

“I got him killed,” she muttered anyway. “I’m going to be called the Black Widow. What if you or Lorcan is next?”

“We’ll be fine. You’ve seen us fight.”

“You shouldn’t sleep. You’ve seen… they come up at night or when you’re alone. They don’t fight. They just… kill.”

“It’ll be fine,” Link tried again.

“I thought about you,” she admitted in a hushed voice.

Link shook his head, not understanding. “When?”

“Last night.”

Well, that was _not_ what he’d been expecting to hear, but he tried to keep his gaze level with hers and to keep the red off his neck. “I’m only surprised it wasn’t Lorcan,” he tried, knowing that her relationship with his brother was better.

But she looked at him, and her silence spoke too loudly. Him too.

“Ah,” Link hummed. Perhaps it was surprise over being thought about at all that kept him from being offended.

“I thought that, and then Myles died.”

It wasn’t funny. Gods, it wasn’t funny. But Link’s lips tipped up against his better judgement. “Zelda, you didn’t kill him by… fantasizing … about someone else.”

It was as if Zelda hadn’t heard him.

“I’m stuck here with my father again.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“He’s replacing me. Did _he_ send the assassin?”

Link went to protest, but it died on his lips. It wasn’t the most farfetched possibility. But “no,” came out of his mouth anyway, if only to calm her mind.

He held out his hand. “You need to sleep, Zelda. I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear. I swear on the Master Sword. I swear on my vows as a knight. I swear on my—” _love for you_ “—honor.”

She stared at his hand for a long time before taking it.

“Why can’t I ever win?” she croaked out, standing before stumbling to the bed.

Link ensured she fell asleep before spending the night checking the perimeter of her room, the windows, the doors. He checked the hall and hurried back in case she woke up, and then checked her room again in case someone had snuck in during the three seconds his back had been turned.

If there was one thing he could do for her now, it was make sure she felt some peace of mind.

* * *

“Father,” Zelda managed, bowing her head before his throne the next morning. She hadn’t slept _well_ , but she’d slept. “Please, I beg you to reconsider.”

But the King was not an empathetic man, and there was no stalwart Prince standing beside him now.

“You will remarry immediately. Without powers, you must secure the kingdom’s safety through a marriage that will provide us with security and an expanded army.”

For once, Link was in the room with them, standing by the door with several of the King’s own guards. And he listened intently, feeling his heart ache for her. Lorcan was just outside the door with several more guards. The two royals were _thoroughly_ protected now.

Her voice was broken as she keened in protest. “Please, Father, give me more time.”

“Even I am betrothed now, Zelda. Do your duty without further complaint.”

She stood up a little taller at his words, anger searing through her. “Having a child is a duty to be borne without complaint?”

His gaze was level with hers. “Yes. Yes, it is. And I will do my duty again to provide another royal who might possess the magic of our family. I had hopes for you. Both your mother and I possess the blood. This time, I will father a child with one who doesn’t. Maybe it was never meant to be you. Perhaps the blood was canceled out.”

“Father!”

“Leave, Zelda. I must speak with the commander. We have had attacks on the eastern front, and I must send them there.”

“What?” Zelda asked suddenly. “That’s… there are attacks _here_ , in our most populated city. Our people have been attacked. Our nearby villages have been threatened. Yet you’re going to send troo—”

She cut herself off, taking several fearful steps back when he rose from his throne. King Rhoam was not one of those unreadable royals. In fact, he prided himself on being able to send a perfectly clear message with just a look. And this message was _clear_.

She was speaking against him in public, and if she didn’t stop, he’d silence her. Soon, she would be obsolete anyway, and her only function as a royal would be to marry. If his precious new child had the powers she could not possess, then she would be replaced as heir to Hyrule as well in favor of the younger protegee.

And somehow, it didn’t sound so bad at all to be the forgotten child.

To be free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I initially wrote like 7 flashbacks that I wanted to put in this fic, but I realized I’ve been putting one in every chapter now, so I’ll chill with those! Note though that in this flashback, I am not trying to take ANY blame off Link by having his stupid guard friend goad him. Link was so wrong. I just think that as a young teen, he probably needed a push before taking the leap. But I really wanted to have this scene in here before I quit with all the flashbacks.
> 
> Also, I’m thinking about sticking with shorter chapters like this so I can get them out more than once a month. I just get distracted with my other fics that I have more fleshed out ideas for, and this one ends up in the back of my mind. I’m also thinking it’s nearing the end. I might make end this around chapter 20 (maybe a more, maybe a less) as the current goal, but we'll see where this actually goes.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda is faced with more changes to her life and realizes too late that the damage to her situation has been done in her father's eyes. She takes control of one situation when she realizes the only way to safely go forward, is to look backwards.

“Princess Zelda, it is an honor to meet you.”

“Lady Catherine, the pleasure is mine.”

Zelda bowed low, her face an impassive smile that was trained to be so unreadable and she was met by an equally perfected gaze. Zelda’s eyes met the young woman, possibly one as young as herself, potentially a few years older.

Lady Catherine looked suspiciously like Zelda’s own mother once did; she bore the grace and dignity of a highborn, her long blonde hair was neatly curled, her green eyes shone like gemstones.

Zelda’s future stepmother.

For a moment, she thought she could see the same resignation in Catherine’s eyes that she felt herself, but it was shielded quickly, replaced by a smile and a respectful bow as she continued through the room to sit beside the King, looking positively dwarfed by his intimidating stature.

When she sat, the room was allowed to return to normal again. Zelda watched her father lean closer to Catherine to whisper in her ear.

“Do you like your new mother?”

Zelda spun quickly to see Lorcan behind her.

“Shut up,” she muttered, moving away from the crowd. “My father is disgusting. She’s essentially my age.”

“He married you off to someone who was closer to his age. Are you really surprised?”

Zelda rolled her eyes, following Lorcan “How are your parents? I miss your mother.”

Lorcan’s lips tipped up. “She’s well. She likely misses you as well. My sister doesn’t come home enough, so she misses having a daughter around. Or… well… when my sister comes down, she’s pretty much like Link and I. I think my mother just liked having someone with her who wasn’t swinging a sword.”

Zelda chuckled. “I enjoyed her conversation. She’s proud of both of you, despite how nervous you make her.”

“She’s not nearly as proud of what I’ve done, trust me.”

“I think she is.”

Lorcan smiled ruefully and shook his head. “No. But today isn’t about me. It’s about you and your family. And _your_ mother.”

She hit his arm. “I said shut up! Lady Catherine is not my mother.”

“Not yet.”

Zelda looked at him with a look of pure disgust. “Were you always so impossible to talk to?”

Lorcan smirked, a low chuckle. “Well, we didn’t used to talk much anyway. And I do miss not talking to you.”

Zelda couldn’t help but crack a smile. “So like you to have an inappropriate conversation right now.”

“I’d kiss you too, if we weren’t in public.”

“I’d push you away.” Zelda moved her hair back and glanced at her father with Lady Catherine. “That’ll be me again soon. My luck, he’ll die again and then maybe my father will consider me no better than a peasant and I can hole up with you once my replacement siblings have been born.”

“I’m only good enough for a peasant?”

“You know that you don’t have a title or anything even remotely close that would allow me to consider you. And even if I could, I wouldn’t. I do, in fact, want to marry someone I can talk to.”

“Isn’t that taboo for royalty?”

Zelda snickered. “Oh yes. That’s why I aim to spite my father in this. So please, let me.”

“Of course, Princess. I look forward to actually attending your next wedding on time.”

Zelda grinned, unable to stop herself. “Will you arrive just in time to burst through the windows and kill him, offering to take his place in the heat of the moment?” Lorcan’s smile faltered for a moment, and Zelda sighed. “Treason, right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to suggest you’d do such a thing.”

“It’s fine, Zelda.”

“Tell me then, how is the kingdom doing? Are we prepared for a war with these assassins?”

Locan hesitated again and motioned for her to move away from the crowd with him.

“No. Your father isn’t rallying any troops. The only addition he’s made in regards to defense has been the guards surrounding the castle.”

Zelda glanced back at her father. “What? He hasn’t done anything for the actual people? Is your mother okay? Are the people who don’t live near the castle going to be alright? I mean, has he thought of any of this?”

Lorcan shrugged. “I have no idea. But I don’t think you’re _actually_ asking me anyway.”

Zelda sighed. “No, I’m not. But Link might know. He’s a little more privy to that kind of information.”

She didn’t miss the disgusted look pass over Lorcan’s face at the mention of his brother. Specifically at the fact that his brother would have information that he couldn’t get on his own. And while Zelda knew that sort of thing bothered Lorcan, and she tried to avoid it if she could, she made for Link across the room, where his eyes had been on them the entire time.

“What’s my father doing?”

Link glanced at the king. “Flirting with your new mother.”

Lorcan snickered, and Zelda hit both of them. “There’s no mistaking you two for anything but brothers.” She returned her glare to Link. “I meant in terms of the kingdom. Is he preparing for an attack by those assassins?”

Shrugging, Link lowered his voice. “I believe your husband’s death threw a screw in his plan. He won’t get Ward’s army now, so he’ll likely use you again to secure more allies. There’s not much that he’s doing now, but he _is_ predictable.”

Zelda let out a frustrated groan. The next husband might not be as good as Myles was. “And if he’s settling his own affairs now, I’ll be next, but that will still take time to arrange. We need to get more troops to deal with this threat quickly. Link, you hold rank. What can you do?”

Link shook his head. “I don’t hold a high enough rank to actually do something on that scale. If I had my troops, I could command them, but even I take my orders from higher places.”

He paused and gave Zelda an expectant look, waiting for her to catch on.

“Me?” she asked finally. “You want me to give the Hylian Military a command?”

“You’re second only to your father.”

Lorcan snorted. “He may be too preoccupied the next few days to notice anyway. This is your best shot.”

Zelda let out a heavy sigh and stared back at her father. “When he finds out, I think he’d be willing to have me killed. He’s already looking to replace me with a new daughter, I don’t see why I would be anything less than expendable to him. There is no love lost between us.”

Link rested his hand instinctively on his sword. “Well, we’re here so he won’t kill you. Don’t worry.”

But Zelda did worry. There was a distinctly tense air between the three of them when next they met. Her father hadn’t gotten wind of her plan, but she, Lorcan, and Link had spent the remainder of the day together, both soldiers giving her a crash course in military strategy and offering their best suggestions for her. She planned to go with Link the next day to inform the commander at the castle. Truly, Zelda wished she could simply inform Tydus and let him take care of the rest. She knew she could rely on him. But as it was, they were planning to bring Syrril in, Link and Lorcan’s father, so that he could help her address the issues of safety.

Her nerves were high, and her anxieties higher. So when there was a knock on her open door, she nearly jumped out of her skin, fearing it would be her father listening in on her plans.

Link and Lorcan both were halfway at the door in a second, but the visitor was Lady Catherine. The nervous look on her face had Zelda sympathetic to her plight, and also, to seeing two armed soldiers charging at her.

“Forgive me, the door was open,” Catherine said, bowing her head to Zelda when she finally made it into the room.

Zelda stood and chuckled. “Only so no one thinks I’m doing anything sordid with my knights.”

Ever the less controlled brother, Lorcan snorted, though he refrained from saying anything unsavory thanks to Lady Catherine’s presence.

Zelda glared at him. “Please excuse us.”

Link bowed gracefully, not missing the single lingering look that Lorcan gave her before he too bowed and left.

Lady Catherine watched them leave, and waited until the door closed to speak again.

“It seems they both have some affection for you. Were you aware?”

Zelda nodded, offering Catherine a seat. “Yes, I’m aware. I was once betrothed to the Hero, and his brother has never his feelings well. I’m told half the court knows of his interest.”

“I heard about you and the Hero. How you can stand to be in his presence after that is… beyond me.”

Zelda shrugged, sometimes wondering that herself. “It’s been many years. I am no longer the same smitten girl I was.”

Catherine tapped her nails nervously on the wood. “No, you are now a widow, who, I assume, is wise enough to know that your father wants you to remarry for his political gain.”

Zelda hesitated, remembering that she needed to be cautious. “Are you disclosing the king’s strategies with me?”

Fidgeting further, Catherine remained impassive. “You are my future family. I don’t see it as a treasonous act. And I know that I would have liked my family to have given me a warning before I found myself here at court.”

“Is my father not to your liking?” Zelda asked, the sarcasm in her voice difficult to miss.

Catherine simply smiled. “We have our ages in common, and the ages of our husbands.”

“We live in an unfair world,” Zelda admitted with a sigh.

“I was wondering, as someone who has obviously known your father for all your life, if there is anything I should be concerned with. Anything I should avoid?”

Implicating her father in anything was technically treason. “You should tread carefully, as with any royal. He knows what he wants, and he will get it.”

“Is that how you are as well, Majesty?”

Zelda fiddled with the fabric of her dress. “I suppose you’ll have to tell me, Lady Catherine. I don’t think anyone is allowed to consider themselves an expert on how they appear to others.”

Catherine smiled. “Well, you appear to me to be someone I can empathize with. Your father has simply not stopped talking to me about your next marriage, and our children, and something about sealing powers. So, I wanted to warn you.”

“Warn me?”

“Yes, warn you. He’s already found someone for you. I had hoped that we could be friends, but when I mentioned my desire to have a relationship with you, he said I would not need to worry, since you wouldn’t be here at the castle much longer.”

Zelda sat back, disgusted and horrified. “I only _just_ was made a widow. Do you know who he plans to sell me to this time?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“Pity. It would have been a nice surprise.”

Lady Catherine stayed for a while longer, and Zelda found that she was not a terribly disagreeable human. In fact, she actually quite liked her. Whether she trusted her or not, well, that was a different story.

Still, Zelda could tell that some of what Lady Catherine said was true, the stuff about her father at least.

When Catherine left her, Zelda sat back, sighing as she looked at a blank paper on her desk. There was nothing she could do about her marriage, but she could do something about her kingdom.

* * *

The next day, she sat with Link in the library, letting out the next of her necessarily large breaths. They’d spent the morning with the commander and with Syrril, proposing their plans for a reassignment of troops to keep as many people safe as possible. Lorcan had gone with them, though he’d opted to stay outside the door rather than join, knowing that his presence in the room did little other than offer speculation about Zelda’s relationship with him. He had no great title like his brother, and therefore didn’t belong. He’d left his post in disgust soon after.

So as Zelda breathed out her relief, she tried to calm her racing heart, still stressed out, despite the hours that had passed between then and now. The book in front of her was a fictional story, one that she used to enjoy when she was bored. Link stood behind her, keeping a weathered eye out.

So after she’d passed several chapters and heard Link clear his throat and audibly change his stance, she looked around the silent room and watched her father make his way towards them.

And he was not happy.

Rising hurriedly to her feet, Zelda moved so the table was between the two of them. And she was glad she did, because he slammed his fists down in rage.

“How dare you!” he boomed. It echoed through the spacious room. “You do not give commands to the troops, nor do you disobey my orders. My orders were that they remain at the castle. I can hardly go back there and make us look like a bumbling fool of a family when it’s the work of one ungrateful, selfish little girl! Go now and fix it! Tell them you were wrong, and in your naiveté, you made a mistake.”

“I won’t. I don’t think I did make a mistake.”

Her father stalked around the table, closer to her. “You pompous, arrogant child!”

He raised his hand, as he’d done many times before. Zelda knew what to expect: a stinging cheek, a throbbing sensation, watery eyes. She knew it.

So when it didn’t happen, it took her a long moment to understand why, despite the scene before her eyes.

Link was in front of her, and he was staying the king’s hand.

The _King_.

His other hand pushed Zelda backwards, and she stumbled into the table before rearing forward to grab his arm, to pull him back as well.

“ _You_ …” Rhoam hissed, his face red and seething. He wasn’t breathing as he yanked his hand away from Link. It was only the knowledge that Link might act on instinct and retaliate if Rhoam took action against him now that kept him from throwing Link into the hard corner of the table.

“Gods, Link,” Zelda whispered.

Rhoam turned his head, snapping his neck in the process. “You dare raise a hand to _me_?”

Link’s steeled gaze didn’t falter. “You charged me with protecting your daughter from all harm.”

“And you _dare_ to talk back to me! I should have your tongue! There’s no need for a knight to speak! Guards! Hold him down!”

“Father, no!”

Rhoam’s murderous gaze turned on her. “You want to challenge my authority _again_?”

“Don’t! This is my fault!”

“Zelda, don’t,” Link tried, as he was pushed against the table and restrained.

But Zelda placed herself between Link and the king, her eyes wide. “Father, what’s _wrong_ with you? What’s happened? This isn’t you! Even this… it’s not you!”

“Move!” he demanded, pulling Zelda.

But she didn’t go anywhere.

Instead, a blinding light erupted from her hand, pushing the King and the guards backwards, away from her and Link. And it was gone as quickly as it arrived.

“No…” she whispered, staring at her hand.

This was all she’d ever wanted: the powers promised to her by blood. But it couldn’t have come at a worse moment.

The King didn’t seem to care any longer that he’d been knocked over, or about Link’s disobedience. The wheels in his head were turning rapidly.

“King Rurik will be a suitable husband… a much better match than Lord Nix. I’ll arrange it immediately, and he can have his troops here within two days. We’re ready to attack now, now that you can use your powers. Gods, we need to hurry!”

“The soldiers aren’t ready! I saw today! No one is prepared for an attack because you have them scattered and guarding this castle and the town. There have been no drills—Father!”

But Rhoam was already gone, disappeared with his guards down the hallway so he could write a letter.

She’d be married again in two days for the sake of a war they weren’t prepared to win.

“Zelda,” Link said, grabbing her arm. “You did it.”

“He’s going to get everyone killed! We need to deal with the assassins, who are winning the war before it begins in earnest.”

“Stop. You did it, Zelda. Take a second.”

She breathed deeply and stared down at her hand. It was warm, still tingling.

“I did.”

She giggled to herself for a moment, giddy and elated. But it didn’t last long.

“He’s selling me for an army. And when I’m taken care of, when the world is at peace, he’ll remember what you did. We’re not safe, Link. Not with him around.”

“I’ll keep you safe; you already know that.”

Zelda ran a hand through her hair, panicking as she thought about all the horrible things he could do to them both when he no longer needed them. All the things this King Rurik might want to do. And she wanted none of that.

She had her powers. She had ideas. She wanted to stay in Hyrule as the heir, but her father was determined to get rid of her.

It wasn’t her failures after all that had made him come to hate her. It was simply…her.

“Link,” Zelda said, gasping suddenly. “How devoted are you to my service?”

He made a face. “Unquestioningly devoted.”

“If I asked you to do me a favor, one that would ruin your life forever, would you do it?”

Link hesitated, but not for long. “Yes.”

“Would you defy the king, my father, and risk facing the punishment of death?”

Again, he hesitated, but this time, it was more out of curiosity. His commitment to Zelda went beyond death. “Yes.”

“Are you willing to put your—”

“Zelda,” he interrupted, “what would you have me do?”

With another deep breath, Zelda closed her eyes, steeling herself before looking at Link again, his piercing blue eyes watching hers questioningly.

“Link, would you marry me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just don't ever listen to me when I say I'm going to try to be faster posting chapters. Honestly, I did try, but I have too many fics going on! This one is pretty close to done, though. Not in a chapter or anything, but I *think* it'll end before/at chapter 20, no longer. This wasn't even meant to be as long as it is, so that's my heads up that we're pretty much nearing the endgame!


	14. Chapter 14

Zelda couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so uncomfortable riding through Hyrule Field.

Link was on her left, Lorcan on her right, and Fina behind her. She was boxed in, no escape from the tension. Everyone was scowling or brooding, except for Fina, who was happily following on her own horse with her own thoughts.

This was Zelda’s fault, after all.

Link had said yes to her, of course. She expected no other answer. He was too dutiful to deny her, even if he’d wanted to.

They’d gone back to her room immediately, and Zelda was relieved to find Fina there, cleaning.

“I need you to pack a bag for me. Overnight. Just enough for a day or two. Find rupees as well. And Fina, do it quickly.”

“O-of course, Princess.”

Zelda led Link through the halls, making her way to her father’s wing of the castle, though she had no intention of seeing him. She doubted he was even in his room anyway.

Knocking on one of the guarded doors—a good sign that her intended confidant was inside—she was quickly met with Lady Catherine’s surprised face.

“May I come in?”

Catherine nodded, and Zelda gestured for Link to stay in the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

“Hello, Princess.”

But Zelda waved her off, instead needing to sit and not wasting the energy to be polite. “I need a favor, Lady Catherine. I’ve unlocked my powers, and my father is arranging a new marriage for me, a better one than the one you knew about, but it’s so much. I just need air for the next day or two before this all happens. I’m taking my knights and I’m going to Hyrule Field. Maybe I’ll stay at an inn, but they’ll protect me. I just need you to tell my father. I’m coming back, and that’s not a lie. I just need to go and breathe. You understand, right?”

“Yes, I do. Go ahead, I’ll relay the message to him personally.”

Zelda was on her feet again, heading for the door. “Thank you. And Lady Catherine? Come to me if you ever need anything as well.”

As she left the room and headed down the hall, Link caught up to her side and they glanced at each other with a subtle nod. They knew _exactly_ where they were going next.

_“I’ll marry you, Zelda,” Link had said. “I’d ask one favor from you as well though.”_

_“Anything.”_

_“Can we ride out to my mothers’ farm and have it done there? I’ve denied her so much. She wasn’t here the first time when we were younger, and she’s alone now. We need witnesses anyway.”_

_“Of course we can. We’ll leave tonight, get there tomorrow morning if we ride quickly, and then have this all done before King Rurik gets here.”_

_“What do you want to do about my brother?”_

_Zelda had hesitated, but in truth, she knew. “He should be there. I… I feel he wouldn’t even believe it unless he’s there. And we’ll need protection while you’re… occupied.”_

So, they found themselves staring at Lorcan’s back, unable to move any closer.

It took a long moment for them to brace for the inevitable impact, but Link finally took the first steps.

“Brother, we need you.”

Lorcan’s head whipped around, finding Zelda and looking her over for injuries before returning his attention to his brother. “Yes?”

“We’re going to the farm tonight. We need you to come.”

“Our mother’s farm? Why?”

Another deep breath. “I grabbed the King, and Zelda awoke her powers, but we’re both in trouble. We’re…”

Link froze, glancing at Zelda. He’d never seen her so pale, and he knew if he froze too long, she’d take the words from him, bearing that pain herself. He couldn’t let her. It was _his_ brother.

“Lorcan,” he tried again. “The King is going to marry Zelda off for troops to start a war we’re not ready for. We’ll lose. The only way she can stop this marriage… is to… is to already _be_ married.”

“She’s a widow; that doesn’t count.”

Link held Lorcan’s gaze, willing him to understand. “I know.”

Lorcan grimaced, realizing that he was missing something. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to understand.

And he did.

His face contorted with fresh pain and understanding. “Gods, Link, no. You’re not…”

“It has to happen.”

“You—” Lorcan turned his accusatory gaze to Zelda. “You remember what he did to you, right? Do your remember crying in my arms? Do you remember screaming and hitting me just so you could get your anger out? _I_ held you because of what _my brother_ did! _I_ comforted you when he broke you down!”

“I know,” Zelda said softly. “But I took up with you while Link and I were still engaged to be married. I wasn’t blameless. And it’s in the past. I need this, Lorcan, and Link is willing to take the fall with me. And you _know_ it can’t be you.”

Lorcan didn’t seem to care that his brother was still there.

“What if Link and I had the same rank? What if, by some miracle, we both held the Master Sword. What would you do?”

“Lorcan, that’s not possible, so don’t even dwell on it.”

But his face was turning red, biting down his anger and hurt.

“If we’d had the same rank… if it was just him and me, _who_ would you have chosen?”

There was a long silence, and Zelda turned back to Link for a moment. He was respectfully looking away, though he was unwilling to leave her alone with Lorcan in this state. She turned back. “Lorcan…”

But he snapped, his voice desperate and enraged. “Who!?”

“Link!” Zelda burst out. She covered her mouth and shook her head, needing to back away from both brothers. “I’d choose Link.”

Link watched Zelda for a moment, unable to stop the prideful feeling that washed over him at Zelda’s choice. But he quashed it down and took a step towards Lorcan, needing to be close enough to stop any sudden moves he might have made in his desperation.

“Why him? I need to know!”

“Lorcan,” Link cautioned. “Leave her be.”

“Tell me, Zelda.”

She sighed and shrugged, fighting back a tear.

“Because I can see a happy short-term future with you, Lorcan, but not something that lasts. With Link, I can’t see either of us enjoying this short term, but I can see a future with him. And I’m willing to play the long game”

“Why are you here?” he asked, breathing out a long sigh. “Why are you even telling me about your plans for a happy future?”

Zelda crossed her arms. “First, I owe it to you to let you know. I might not be marrying you, but I’m not indifferent towards you, however you may feel about me in this moment. And second… we need your help.”

“With what?” he spat.

Link took over this time. “We need protection. I can’t focus on everything at once, and mom, and the farm. I need you, brother.”

Lorcan scoffed, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Oh, you want me to guard the door while you’re too busy consummating your marriage? You’re both sick.”

Link ignored him, though his words made Link shake. “Lorcan, we need someone we can trust. We have to go _now_ , and we have to do this fast. You’re my brother, and I trust you.”

That was how Zelda found herself boxed in between Link, Lorcan, and Fina on Hyrule Field, riding to Eilda’s Farm.

Link slowed his horse as they neared home. “Lorcan, will you guard her? I need to go into town to find us a priestess to…” he trailed off, letting the words die. They needed someone to marry them in the sight of the Goddesses. He knew someone trusted, someone who wouldn’t leave the farm and immediately tell the king. At that point, it would be of little consequence, but he and Zelda had hoped to avoid bringing his wrath to his mother’s home.

“I can go,” Lorcan muttered.

“No. Watch Zelda and Fina.”

Lorcan’s eyes narrowed. “Because you think I’ll run away and never come back?”

Nodding, Link turned his horse in the direction of town. “Yes. Something like that. I’ll meet you at the farm.”

Link looked at the three of them once more. If there was one thing he trusted about Lorcan, it was his love for Zelda. Perhaps he may try to kidnap her, but he also trusted that Zelda knew how to manage Lorcan better than anyone. He could afford an hour in town to hire a priestess.

It didn’t lessen his nerves, however.

But Lorcan, Zelda, and Fina rode on, reaching sight of the farm within twenty minutes. Zelda felt a warm calm settle over her, something inherently peaceful about the little cottage as it grew larger and larger until they were stopped in front of the door.

Lorcan hopped off his horse, his shoulders slouched and decidedly _not_ like his usual confident posture. He grabbed the reins on Zelda’s horse and knocked on the door.

When Eilda pulled it open, her mouth dropped before letting out an excited scream, holding her arms wide as she grabbed Lorcan and pulled him into a tight hug.

“How are you doing, baby? Are you feeling better? Are you sore still? You don’t look so good! You need to come inside. Come inside! And Princess! Fina! My girls, this is a surprise! What’s happening? Where’s Link? Are you all alright?”

“Link will be here soon,” Zelda said, stepping into Eilda’s waiting arms, far more comfortable now than she had been in the past. “We need a favor. A big one. Something’s happened, and—”

“Link and Zelda are getting married and they want to use your house as a personal honeymoon getaway.”

Zelda closed her eyes, shaking her head in disgust. Eilda waited patently for an explanation as Zelda took a breath. “Link and I are in trouble. My father is going to marry me off for political reasons and start a war that we aren’t prepared to win. And my father was going to… well… Link needed to protect me, and it nearly cost him a tongue. I unlocked my sealing powers, and when my father stops riding his high, he’ll remember Link’s insubordination, and my failures. So, for protection for Link, security for me, and for the safety of the kingdom, we’ve decided that marriage is the best option that meets all of our needs. We’ve both agreed, and I’ve given him many opportunities to back out.”

“Goodness,” Eilda breathed. “And Link’s okay? You’re okay? Where exactly is he?”

“He went to get a priestess he trusts.”

Eilda’s eyes slid to Lorcan. “Are you okay? Last time you were both here… things were different.”

“I’m just the help,” he muttered, pushing past them both to where he knew the liquor was kept.

“He’s here to protect us,” Zelda said to Eilda, watching him take a long swig.

Eilda nodded and stormed over to Lorcan. She grabbed the bottle from him. “You can’t do your job if you’re drunk, Lorcan.”

He leaned heavily against the counter glaring at both Zelda and his mother.

Fina took a seat beside Zelda as they waited, all four sitting in a prolonged, uncomfortable silence, waiting for Link’s return.

“So,” Eilda said, turning to Lorcan. “Have you seen your father? Is he well?”

“He is.”

She nodded, realizing that there wasn’t going to be much more to that conversation. Instead, she turned her attention to Zelda. “I am incredibly sorry for your loss. I heard about your husband.”

Lorcan scoffed. “Which one?”

Eilda shot him a silencing glare.

But Zelda accepted that Lorcan’s attitude was simply going to hang over them for the day. “Thank you for your condolences. He was a good man.”

“And congratulations on unlocking your power.”

Zelda ran a hand along her fingers. “It’s so strange. I don’t feel different. And I only used them once, but they’re there. I can feel them. It’s like… they’re lingering just under my skin now. I don’t know what to do. I’d have been the start of a war if I’d stayed, and I can’t do that. I can’t get my people killed.”

“So admirable,” Lorcan spat. “I’m sure marrying my brother is the worst alternative. You’re torn up. I can see it.”

“Lorcan!” Eilda finally hissed. “You are not helping anything or anyone with your comments.”

Zelda couldn’t bring herself to chastise him, as she normally would. On any other day, she’d have laid into him for his incessant digs, his constant complaining. But she could see his pain written so clearly on his face, pain she’d caused, and she didn’t have the heart to look at him, let alone say anything to him.

Eilda could see the thick tension in the air and stood up, holding her hand out to Zelda. “Let me show you where I have stored several things of mine and my daughter’s. You can pick something suitable, and I will speak with Lorcan about how we can proceed safely. Come along, Princess.”

So, Eilda showed Zelda and Fina the clothes she had and left them in peace, returning to the main sitting room to find Lorcan once again.

Unsurprisingly, he had a glass bottle in his hand, already half empty.

“Lorcan… I’m sorry,” Eilda finally said, putting her hand on her son’s arm. “I know this is hard, but you always knew that you two would never be able to be together.”

“It didn’t have to be a marriage,” Lorcan muttered, admitting his desire to the only person in the world he felt truly comfortable with. “It didn’t even have to be us in Hyrule. Once upon a time, if I’d asked her, she’d have run away with me. And I was too valiant to ask.”

“You were too smart, you mean. That girl is a princess, not some commoner. She has duties, and she’s grown up since you were last here. Your brother made a right mess of things all those years ago. He knows it, Zelda knows it… even all of Hyrule knows it. He went about it in the most public way. If the King had a say in this, Link wouldn’t be properly considered anymore. He ruined his chances at an accepted marriage with her.

“This is _dangerous_. Everything that’s happening right now is something that could kill us all. And I need you, Lorcan. I need you to protect this family from itself. Can you? Could you fight your father if he came to drag them home? You know what the king would do to your brother, to _Zelda_ , if he were to come here before they are truly wed? And them they would come after me, because I’m harboring them. They’d take your sister’s position away out of spite. And they may try to kill you, if not at least have you removed from the Hylian forces. And right now, _you_ are the only one who can protect us all from that fate. You need to be alert. You need to watch for those assassins, and the royal guard. I’ll help you, but I’m no fighter. I’d call your sister home, but she’s too far. It has to be on you, my sweet boy. And I’m so sorry for that.”

Lorcan set the bottle down slowly, staring longingly at it as he did. “Why did it have to be _him_? It was that old king, and I dealt with that. But now it’s my brother. _How_ am I supposed to deal with him now?”

Eilda chuckled and wrapped her arm around Lorcan. “He’s your brother. You can hate him for as long as you need to, but I know you love each other, and that will always bring you back. He’s not doing this to spite you. And neither is Zelda.”

There would be no living with himself if he got his mother killed because of his foolishness. That much he knew. So, before Link could return and look him in the eye, Lorcan looked around the room and stood up, grabbing his sword.

“I guess I’ll go make my first sweep of the property.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be the wedding chapter, then Lorcan started talking and I got too into it, and now the wedding is NEXT chapter because putting it in here would have made it too long. Oops!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and Zelda try to figure out more about their new life after years of conflicting emotions about the other.

The wedding was a tense disaster.

Fina had helped Zelda get ready though in their haste, they’d brought nothing to change into. Eilda lent Zelda a dress she’d had, though she was unsure who’s it was. It had been such a long time since she’d needed to wear anything that nice.

Eilda sat beside Lorcan, who watched the area with his trained eyes, able to tune out the distractions around him… able to keep his eyes off Zelda.

It was no royal wedding; it was more fit to a pauper and their intended than anything else. They stood outside in a field of vegetables, both sweating and nervous, constantly looking over their shoulder for the murderous arrival of the king. Link had wondered if they’d send his father to find where he’d gone.

They clutched each other’s hands tightly as the priestess recited devotions to the Goddesses. It wasn’t a grip of love, but nervous desperation. Their fingers were clasped together, their hands shook, and both of them offered the other a small, undetectable swipe of their thumb in an attempt to calm them down.

And Zelda’s eyes kept drifting sympathetically to Lorcan.

When the priestess announced to kiss in the sight of the Goddesses, they both hesitated. Not only was Lorcan’s presence a heavy weight on both of them, but they not kissed since they were teenagers. Link gave Zelda the most awkwardly hesitant peck on the lips he’d ever managed, much to the confusion of the priestess. She finished the ceremony anyway and declared them wed in the sight of the Goddesses. She’d confirm it herself to the King upon their return.

Somehow, they both made it to the small room Eilda had prepared outside of the main house.

It wasn’t until Zelda sat on the bed, fiddling with the seam of her dress that she even processed any of the events that had just taken place.

“Oh, gods, we got married, Link. After all these years, it happened after all.”

Link chuckled, equally lost in thought as he leaned against the wall beside the window. The curtains were closed, but still, he felt like there was an audience. Like his brother was just outside listening in to every single word they were saying.

“Seemed impossible after everything I did to prevent it.”

“My father will kill us both.”

“I can take him,” Link said before realizing that he’d just committed treason yet again for threatening the King of Hyrule.

Gods, would it ever end?

Zelda could see him retreat within himself again as soon as he finished that thought. “Well, Link, we did just promise to be there for each other. I’ll defend you if you defend me. Equal risk of death.”

“What a long marriage we’ll have,” Link laughed as more dark thoughts crossed his mind.

Zelda rose from the bed and stood beside Link, tentatively placing her hand on his arm. “Thank you for doing this for me. It means a lot. I just couldn’t do that all over again, like with Myles.”

Crossing his arms, Link nodded. “At least we hope that won’t happen again.”

Sighing, Zelda closed her eyes. “I meant the marriage to a stranger, not the murder. But that too, I hope will be avoided. You’re far more capable than he was.”

“You married a stranger, Zelda.” His eyes drifted to hers, sad and lost. “You don’t know me anymore. Not like we used to.”

She shrugged. “That’s true. I might not know what your favorite food is, or whether you sleep better on the left or right side of the bed, but I know you better than you think I do. You married me to save me from a forced marriage to a king who only wants me for my power and status. You stopped me from being a pawn. You’ve given up parts of your life to service to a crown that would just as soon see you dead. You hold the Master Sword. As much as you claim you’re a murderer when you do your job well, the Master Sword would only accept one with the Spirit of the Hero. You’re better than you give yourself credit for, and you’re selfless.”

“As an adult.”

Zelda chuckled and nodded. “As an adult.”

They fell into a long stretch of silence once again, broken only by the restless crickets outside the window.

Link watched Zelda gnaw at her bottom lip relentlessly, playing with her fingers that she’d now folded in front of her.

“We have to do this eventually,” she said when the silence became too much to bear.

“I know,” he agreed, a hushed whisper. He didn’t need her to elaborate. It had been an unspoken understanding between them from the second they agreed to this union.

Hyrule was antiquated and believed far too strongly in the old ways. Arranged marriages for the sake of political alliances, marrying daughters off to strangers for armies or friendship. They also believed that no Goddess would bless an unconsummated royal marriage. The whole point of royalty was to pass on the sacred bloodlines. That was the only way that the Goddesses’ blood had been continued for so long. Only those unable to have children were excused in the eyes of the Goddesses.

Link ran his hands through his hair and sat on the bed. “We can lie to the priestess, you know. I’m not against blasphemy or perjury. In fact, I’ve frequently flaunted my disrespect for the Goddesses in my years, as you know, given that betraying you was a part of that.”

Zelda chuckled nervously and crossed her arms. “You’re too good, Link. It’s strange. It’s not as if this is either of our first times.”

“With each other, it would be,” he muttered, looking up at her as he hid most of his red face beneath his clutched hands.

“A match years in the making,” Zelda mused. “Though, if you’d simply spoken to me about your reservations back then, you’d have known that we still wouldn’t have been married yet. This wayward route rushed the process, ironically.”

Letting out a deep breath, Link gestured to a small table near the door. “Want a glass? I think I need one.”

Zelda eyed the bottle of wine that Eilda left there. “Yes. I’ll grab them.”

She had to steady her shaking hands, nearly clanking the glasses against each other as she poured. She took a long swig of hers before refilling it and handing Link his drink. Not surprisingly, he drank it down like it was a shot, making a face as the alcohol burned his throat.

“Is this really wine?” he asked, glancing behind him at the bottle.

“Is your mother fond of other things?”

“I wouldn’t know…” he muttered. Crossing the room, he brought the entire bottle over and refilled his glass, pouring much generously than Zelda had before adding some more into Zelda’s. “Are you fond of wine?”

This time, Zelda attempted to return her mask of serenity, but her hand still shook, and she was sure her eyes betrayed her nerves. “I am, rather. Are you?”

“I don’t get it often enough, but I am. It’s cheaper to buy ale. Mead, on the other hand, is a delicacy that I’ve never gotten to enjoy enough of.”

“Mmm, mead,” Zelda laughed, closing her eyes and imagining the taste on her tongue instead of… whatever they were drinking.

When she opened them again, she saw Link watching her with a genuine smile. Soft though it was, it was unlike anything she’d seen from him in some time, and she couldn’t help but return it.

“My wedding gift to you when things calm down will be mead. You can drink it to your heart’s content.”

Link nodded, his eyes softening. “Only if you’ll join me.”

“I will.”

They both fell silent again as they drank, though much slower than their first.

“So,” Zelda said, attempting to break the awkwardness of it all. “Like I said, I don’t know which side of the bed you prefer.”

Glancing at the neatly arranged pillows, Link shrugged. “I sleep on the ground, on cots, and in incredibly small beds so often that I don’t think I know. You can choose. Or I can sleep on the floor, if that makes you more comfortable.”

“Might as well get used to it now.”

Link’s eyes widened marginally. The thought of leaving the barracks hadn’t quite crossed his mind. And never returning to any of his old duties, travelling Hyrule, fighting alongside his sister.

Seeming to sense where his thoughts had gone, Zelda tentatively rested a hand on his knee. “I’m not asking you to never leave the castle, Link.”

As soon as he realized that his normally impassive, trained expression had given him away, he set the drink down on the end table. No matter how badly he wanted to take the entire bottle and guzzle it down, and no matter the knowledge that Lorcan was keeping watch, Link knew he needed to remain at least conscious of his own actions in case something were to happen in the night. 

With a deep breath, Link turned to Zelda. “What do you expect of me? We never discussed anything. I still have a responsibility to Hyrule and to this sword, but to you as well now. Well… more than I did already.”

“I’m not sure, honestly. We’ll need to speak with some of the advisors. There would have been a plan in place for you years ago, and I doubt it would have changed much.” She froze and ran a hand through her hair. “Do you regret this? I know you’ve said this was fine with you, but this is a dramatic change to your life.”

“A welcome one,” Link said quickly. “It’ll be an adjustment, but not one that I am unprepared for.”

“Okay,” Zelda said quietly, forced to take his word for it.

And again… they both fell silent.

Link closed his eyes, seeing them both together when they were younger. They’d had so much fun and known each other so well. The hours they’d spent talking together… the time they’d spent apart. It all hit him hard as he stared at the grown woman in front of him. She wasn’t the same girl, and he wasn’t that same boy. So, he wondered if they could ever reach that place with each other again.

Because no matter how many times he apologized, and no matter how many times she’d forgiven him, Link could never forget the things he’d done to her. He’d never forgive himself. And that was a wall he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to knock down.

She was watching him now, her eyes alight with curiosity. He’d seen that look more times than he could count. And it brought a small smile to his lips, just as it had years before. She always tried to decipher him. She was hungry to know everything.

“What are you thinking about?”

Link didn’t bother to hide the red creeping up his neck as he turned straight on towards her. “You. I was remembering us running through the gardens. I remember chasing you, and you letting me win because you knew the garden better than I did and I could never win on my own. And I was remembering that day we sat under the stars and talked like this. Without the drink. It was a little less awkward back then.”

But there was more on his mind, and he scrunched his face, debating saying anything at all.

“Tell me,” Zelda prodded.

He grimaced. “I need to know something. I just… I _need_ to know.”

“Go on. I’ll answer anything you want.”

“I know what you said to him, but… in the sight of the Goddesses, please tell me the truth; I need to know if you wish I was Lorcan.”

He raised his eyes, hooded though they were, as if they were preparing to shield him from her answer.

Zelda took a deep breath. “Lorcan is… familiar. He’s someone I relied on when things were dark. He helped me to forget. A part of me will always love him. But it’s not the kind that threatens to stop your heart. It’s not the basis of a life I dream of. It’s a memory from another time.

“You… every time I look at you, I remember it all. I remember the love we had, and I remember the hate. I remember friendship and apathy. We’ve built some foundation of trust over all of that. Somehow, somewhere along the way, I forgave you. And with you, I feel like if we can overcome all that and get here, then there’s something worth building. Because you’re right: you’re not that same boy. That boy would have run when I asked for his help. Time and time again, you’ve been there, _now._ You’ve grown up.

“I don’t need to forget it all anymore. Lorcan helps me forget. You make me remember.”

“You want to remember the horrible things I did?”

“And me. I did terrible things to you, to spite you for what you did to me. I’d hoped that you’d learn about Lorcan and I and that it would break you. It didn’t, thankfully. But that was a thought that I clung to for a long time. It was selfish, and shameful, but it happened. I want to remember everything. The good, the bad, the ugly. That’s… life. We aren’t perfect, Link. And I’ve never been more sincere when saying that I’m glad it’s you here with me, not Lorcan.”

“Gods, we could have been easy,” Link groaned into his hands. “You and I were effortless.”

“Nothing is effortless, Link. If it was, we were living in a dream that we’d have been rudely snapped from one day. We have things we need to work on. There’s nothing wrong with putting work into something. Especially a relationship, which we now have.”

Link nodded moved closer to Zelda on the bed, adjusting so that he was resting against the headboard. He stayed there for hours while they talked. Some of their conversations were deep, and some were as simple as gossip.

They knew they needed to relearn about the other, and the conversation flowed much more easily than it had when they’d first arrived.

Well into the night, Zelda’s laughs had begun to fade as she watched the fine lines on Link’s face, admiring them without shame. And Link’s eyes had drifted from her own, to her parted lips.

Though they’d never expected it, they both met the other halfway.

Zelda had planned her first real kiss with Link in years to be soft and hesitant and gentle. She’d wanted to make sure that he’d opened himself up to the idea of her. And he’d felt much the same, expecting her to feel conflicted about him, and about his past.

So when they met in a frenzied tangle of tongues and teeth, it wasn’t exactly how either of them had planned it.

Link hadn’t meant to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close. He didn’t plan for his hands to trail up her back and tangle in her hair. He didn’t expect to pour years of longing and desire into a single moment. But he wanted to show her the devotion that he’d always intended, and it manifested like _this._

Zelda tilted her head back as Link’s lips eventually moved from hers to her jaw and then her neck and collarbone. She’d been so guarded around him for the longest time that throwing her head back felt almost freeing.

Her hands desperately reached for his shirt, chasing a new feeling that she hadn’t felt in some time. One that only partially had to do with Link at that moment, but she suspected it was far more to do with herself. She was confident.

For once, she felt like she’d made the right choice. Like she’d done something right. She’d spited her father in the past, but this was more. This was taking something back that he’d stolen long ago. And she’d been beholden to him and to others for far too long.

“We don’t have to do this,” Link reminded her.

“Scared?” she laughed, moving her hair behind her shoulder. “We’re both old pros at this, aren’t we? And I want to do this if you do.”

“Gods,” he muttered, though some dark humored part of him chuckled. “Yeah, we are.”

“We don’t have to if you don’t want,” she said, equally understanding.

His eyes were on the mark he’d left on her collarbone. “Well, the Goddesses won’t…”

“No, what do _you_ want, Link? Not the Goddesses.”

“You.” This time, his eyes ran a path up to her own. “I’ve always wanted you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I think you can see from that first few hundred words, aka the worst thing I've probably ever written, that I'm struggling. I really enjoy this fic, but I'm just struggling to write it at this point (send help lol). I did already start the next chapter because it was meant to be in this chapter, but I basically think that the plot might move a little faster now so I can finish this up. It's been over half a year of working on this fic and I just don't have as much motivation anymore. So we're going into the homestretch! I'm thinking of potentially ending this on chapter 18 now, given the plot. It's just going to move faster than I'd planned so I can get it done sooner! This fic WILL be finished, no matter what!!


	16. Chapter 16

Link woke up first the next morning. Without really planning it, he’d discovered that he enjoyed the left side of the bed.

Of course, Zelda also seemed to have a preference for the left. So they shared.

Though it seemed the pillows on that side weren’t comfortable enough. So Zelda used him instead.

There were few times that Link had felt so peaceful, as if nothing existed outside the room in the cabin. He turned his face into Zelda, meeting with her wild hair. He breathed out as some of it tickled his nose, but he didn’t want to wake her yet. He knew that it had been some time since she’d slept peacefully as well.

Instead, his hand trailed down her bare back, a long line that he followed until he could reach no further, and then ran back up to her neck before following it again. Her skin was so soft, so fine and perfect. But that arm was pinned beneath her, and that path soon became harder to maintain. So he let that hand simply rest against her while his other ran along the arm she had thrown over his chest.

Last night, when he’d been lying in bed talking to her again several hours after they’d planned to sleep, he’d discovered that she enjoyed letting him know how many scars were on his back that he could rarely see. She’d said one looked so large that she’d have mistaken it for a surgical wound. But she’d asked questions, which was something he hadn’t expected as her light nail trailed along his marred skin, sending shivers through him that she deliberately provoked after a while.

And he’d told her stories about each of them that he could remember. Some were gentle reminders that he’d done unspeakable things. Some were acquired while protecting her. Some, the ones he’d been most hesitant to explain, had been obtained during the battle that had killed his brother, Lyal.

And when Zelda had finally adjusted herself, Link returned the attention she’d given him by pointing out that Zelda’s back had freckles. He traced several small patterns along them with his nose before kissing the center of the design. And then Zelda had turned over, and his attention moved elsewhere.

Link could feel Zelda stir beneath him, her legs wrapping around his as she moved closer. But he knew she was awake when her hand found one of the raised scars on his chest and traced it with the same light touch he used on her arm.

Neither said anything for the longest time, instead, simply enjoying the other.

Finally though, Zelda hummed in either greeting or contentment. Link couldn’t be sure. But either way, he whispered into her hair. “Hey.”

“We got married,” she said, very matter of fact. “And then we did… all that… right?”

Link snorted and took the opportunity to move her onto him a bit more so he could free his arm. “We did,” he said softly, already regretting making the choice to free his arm. Because now, Zelda was awake, and she was lying entirely on him. And her skin was brushing so perfectly against his. And suddenly, he couldn’t think a single coherent thought.

“Just checking that it wasn’t a dream,” she laughed. She patted his bare chest and let her foot run along his leg, smirking at his mildly tortured expression. “But I guess this is pretty good proof.”

Zelda sat up and pushed her hair back. Link, on the other hand, let out a tormented moan, one hand running along her waist, and the other shielding his eyes. “This has to be a fever dream.”

“No,” Zelda giggled, leaning down into him so she could whisper in his ear. Her hand laced with his that covered his eyes. “I’m too sore for this to be a dream.”

“Gods,” he laughed. “You’re enjoying this too much.”

“I enjoyed last night quite a bit as well.”

“As did I,” Link admitted, sitting up and sliding Zelda off to the side of him. “I could have sworn that you’d draw blood with those claws of yours.”

Zelda wiggled her fingernails playfully in Link’s face before inspecting him. She poked a sore spot on his back. “I did. Just once. The rest are just bruises.”

“You’ve got a vice grip,” Link chuckled, resorting to the easy way he used to joke with her to calm her down. “You could have told me that before we got into a lot of situations. You’re your own weapon.”

She smiled, but it faded as she looked at the light peaking through the curtain. “We’re going to be killed today. Either by Lorcan, or my father.”

Link stretched out and looked around the room, clothes strewn all across the floor, thrown haphazardly the night before. “Well, at least we had a good final night.”

That got Zelda to laugh, and she pulled the sheet up to cover herself. “That we did. And when we meet the Goddesses, we can thank them for their stupid imposed rules that even inspired last night to happen.”

“You’re giving them too much agency,” Link said, rolling off the be to collect his things. Zelda greedily laid back down to watch. “I didn’t see them in the room with us when we both said yes.” He finally turned to look at her before covering himself with his clothes. “Zelda!”

“What? I how can you be modest after last night? Or perhaps was it technically this morning? Do you consider it by the start or the end of it all?”

He shook his head and laughed while tugging his clothes on. “You’re stalling. We should face them sooner rather than later. Get it over with. Lorcan will have things to say.”

Zelda sighed and grabbed her own things, knowing that he was right. Almost as if their wedding night had been little more than a secret tryst, she knew she had too many things to face to lie in bed all day. “Either he’ll have a lot to say, or he’ll be deadly silent. I’m never sure which I find worse.”

“When Lorcan is silent, it’s far worse,” Link mused, pulling his boots on and grabbing his sword.

“I wish my father was that way,” Zelda said, shrugging into her dress. She needed no help with this one. It wasn’t fine and back laced like many of her royal dresses, which simply were to show her privilege of having Fina to lace her up. But she quite liked this style, and it was far less of a hassle.

Link watched her, though when Zelda turned to chastise him, she was almost positive his eyes were staring straight through her. “Link, we’ll be okay. And when we stop my father from getting us all killed, things will calm down, and we can get to know one another better.”

“I’d like that,” he said, his eyes focusing once again. “Once we’ve faced the King, I’ll return to the barracks, assuming I’m not imprisoned. We’ll work the soldiers from the inside. They’ll follow you, and they’ll follow me. They’ll also want to follow your father, though, so you might want to come up with a rousing speech or something to get them on our side if we don’t want them walking into a slaughter.”

“Alliances are about to change,” Zelda said, pulling her hair up and out of her face. “We’re making Hyrule just as vulnerable as we are trying to save her. We need to be careful.”

“I know. We’ll come up with a better plan when we see how things are back at the castle. You ready?”

Zelda laced up her boots and stood. “Link, wait.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her. “You and I were meant to do this together. We’re partners in all of this. And I don’t mean romantically, or because both our lives are at risk now. We both have the Goddesses’ favor. For countless lifetimes, our fates have been tied together. We were always meant to do this together.”

Link let out a deep breath and nodded, reaching down to grab his knife before handing it to her. “We _are_ meant to do this together. Which means facing Lorcan first.”

“Are you giving me a knife to use on your brother?” Zelda laughed, taking it. She didn’t believe that to be true, but a second though had her hesitating. Lorcan would be angry, but she still trusted him. “Or is this knife for my father?”

Link made a face and secured the last of his things. “Your call.”

“Thanks.”

He held the door open and they stepped outside into the morning sun. The dew on the grass still glistened, and the sun was too bright just above the horizon, still later than they’d planned to wake up.

It was only when they arrived back at the main house that they realized the actual gravity of what they’d done. When they stepped inside, Fina stood up from the table first and bowed low before Link and Zelda. To the newest member of the royal family. The Priestess was there and bowed as well.

Link stuttered, confused. He turned to Zelda, who still held a higher station and wasn’t required to bow, so she just gave him a look that said he had to get used to it. Even Eilda bowed her head.

“No, don’t,” he started, but he didn’t continue when they heard a noise; someone walking too loud, too upset.

Link and Zelda braced themselves before turning to Lorcan. He looked as if he’d spent the entire night drunk or awake. His hair was wildly all over the place, and his eyes were dark and saggy. He blinked often, like he was trying to force them to stay open. Even his shirt was half tucked, laces undone, wrinkled, and she was almost positive it was the exact same thing he’d worn the day before.

Lorcan strode into the main room, his eyes glaring at both Zelda and his brother. “You’ve expected me to bow to you before when you got that damn sword. I’ve bowed to you for all these years. I won’t be doing it again. You’re my little brother. I’ll treat you as such.”

“That’s what I’ve always preferred,” Link admitted, his hand itching to reach out for Zelda. He could see Lorcan’s attention drifting her way.

“I’ll bow to you,” he said to Zelda, a tilt to his head as if to prove his point. “No matter what mess we’re all in, I’ll always bow to you.”

“Lorcan—”

But he held his hand up, silencing Zelda. And while she instinctually wanted to chastise him for the rude gesture, she couldn’t blame him in this one instance.

She wanted to comfort him, or to say something—anything—that might make this situation better. But she never got the chance.

The front door slammed open and several men with swords poured into the room.

Link pulled Zelda behind him, drawing the Master Sword. Lorcan was slightly slower, and saw Zelda protected, instead opting to move to shield his mother. Fina stood behind them all, taking her small knife in hand. The priestess simply bowed her head in prayer. But the other five of them were sorely outnumbered.

And as they all got a better look, they saw it was the King’s men who’d burst in, not assassins.

Syrril walked through the opening into the house and closed his eyes. “Goddess, no. I wanted nothing more than to be wrong.”

“Syrril!” Eilda shouted, trying to push past Lorcan’s unyielding arm. “What are you doing? And why are these men trespassing so violently into my home!?”

But he looked instead at his sons. “I warned you both not to drag you mother into this! I begged you to leaver her alone! And look now! I’ve been tasked with returning Link and the Princess, arresting Lorcan, the maid, and anyone else assisting in the capture of the Princess Zelda. That means your mother and this woman! Don’t you see what you’ve done?”

Lorcan’s arm went slack, and Eilda held him tightly. “I’m harboring our family. _Your sons_. And yet you are so eager to bring them back in chains.”

“When they were all discovered to be missing, do you not think they looked at me first? Of course they would check here next! So I am here to pray that this can go smoother than if they’d sent someone else. Come quietly, and we can see this over with quickly. The charges are kidnapping, and it seems Lorcan and the maid will be facing the worst of the offences. Link and Zelda are still needed. And Zelda, your wedding is already being prepared. You must return now if we’re to have any chance of keeping this alliance.”

Link could feel Zelda’s hold on him tighten, and he glanced back at her. Her eyes were on all of the men with swords drawn, lining the walls of the comfortable house. Objects had shattered on the floor, glass spraying about. It reminded her of her first visit here when she’d tried to grab all the glass off the floor.

“Princess,” Link whispered quickly so only she could hear. “We can forget it all if you have doubts.”

Someone moved towards Link, seeking to grab him in his distraction, but Zelda pushed her way in front of Link and held out her glowing hand. “Don’t touch him.”

Syrril took a step back as she looked his way, her eyes daring him to move for Lorcan either.

“Princess, while I think I can gather that your ‘kidnapping’ might have been at your prompting, I have orders from your father which supersede yours. I must return you to the castle for your wedding, and Link must oversee the merging of the armies.”

“Then I’m afraid your orders no longer apply, Sir.” She stepped into Link again. “I cannot be married to two men at once.”

Syrill nodded, thinking he knew what she meant. “Your father has said that the usual mourning period can be overlooked given that we are in a time of crisis.”

“Perfect,” Zelda said smugly, though the quiver in her voice was evident. “However, Prince Ward was not the husband to which I was referring.”

Syrill stared at her for a long moment before he looked around the room.

They were here, in Eilda’s house. With Link, Lorcan, her maid, and a priestess. Lorcan looked dead on his feet, miserable without remorse. And then Syrill’s eyes followed to Link.

His son, who’d nearly destroyed the family’s name years ago despite his proclaimed love for Zelda. His son who he used to watch sneak out of the castle to meet with her in the gardens. His son who’d spent years brooding in regret and remorse.

His son, who’d do anything for her.

“No, Link… please tell me that what I’m thinking is incorrect.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking,” Link said, though he gently tapped Zelda’s arm to swap positions with her, which she tried to resist, but Link easily moved himself in front of her as the guards all turned to face him.

“You didn’t…”

“ _We_ did. In the sight of the Goddesses, with witnesses, and with a priestess who was going to return to the castle with us today to inform the King. There was no kidnapping, Father. Just a wedding.”

“Goddess Hylia, Link! Don’t say that! We can go back. My men will forget what you’ve said if we can just go back now and set this all right.”

The priestess stepped forward then and held her hands up. “I can confirm it all. And the Goddess has seen! There is no denying that these two were wed and blessed with her favor. She cannot marry another.”

Syrill took a harsh step forward, prompting everyone to respond at once: Link into Zelda, Zelda with her hand raised, Eilda trying to move to Link, Lorcan to grab his mother, and the guards to move into a ready stance.

“You know what you’ve done, son? He’ll have you killed for this.”

“I wield the Master Sword. He can try.”

“Link!”

“Let the others go, and Zelda and I will come with you. We had no intentions to run from our decision.”

“I can’t do that, Link!” His father looked desperate to take the offer, but with so many guards at his back, he could never get away with such a decision.

Syrill’s hand itched to smack Link upside the head, to see sense. But instead, he turned his ire to his former wife. “You allowed this to happen?”

“He’s a grown man, Syrill. And she’s the Princess. I’m far more thankful that I have lived to see one of our sons marry. But you seem intent that our last two boys join our other son in death. And I won’t let you do that.”

“Lorcan won’t let _you_. For all his and Link’s flaws, they won’t allow their mother to harm herself on their behalf, will you boys?”

“Don’t use me against them, Syrill. They know me better than you do. And they know that I’d accept time in a prison to keep them safe. So they wouldn’t do anything stupid for me because I wouldn’t want them to.”

Link took a deep breath and glanced at Lorcan. A silent understanding passed between the two: Link had to keep Zelda safe, and Lorcan had their mother. They couldn’t swap, they couldn’t both cover Zelda.

And for all their bickering in the past, Link and Lorcan knew each other well. They were brothers, after all.

“Zelda,” Link whispered again. “Don’t fight them.” Then, he turned back to Lorcan and nodded.

Suddenly, Link’s grip on Zelda tightened tenfold, and then they were surging forward, blocking about half the guards from advancing. Lorcan began to shout something and he pushed his mother. She ran out the back door, and Lorcan blocked their father.

In the back, Fina and the priestess had each other, unwilling to participate in the mayhem. It seemed apparent to the guards, as no one attacked either of them.

Lorcan pushed off a guard and ran after his mother to scuttle her out the back, and Link grabbed Zelda, ducking them both to the ground in surrender when Lorcan was safely gone.

Link was pulled off Zelda and restrained, and Zelda was held by the wrists, keeping her lit-up hands away from any guards with as little force as they could.

“Let me go!” she demanded. “I won’t hurt anyone!”

Eager to release the Princess, the guard did, and she aimed her hand at the wall, collapsing parts of the doorway to block the way forward that the other guards were going for. Her hand was grasped again, but she was satisfied. Though Fina hadn’t taken the opportunity to run with them, she’d managed to secure Lorcan and Eilda’s escape.

Syrill’s look of relief was unmistakable. “Leave them! We’ve got the Princess and the Hero. Let’s return her to the King. He’s worried sick.”

“I’m sure,” Zelda muttered.

Link watched them hand the Master Sword to Syrill. He glanced at his son and shook his head. “I’d thought you’d learned responsibility.”

“I have.”

“You’ll be thrown into a cell for this. You’ll only be brought out when you’re needed. Was it worth it?”

Link nodded, tilting his head towards Zelda. “I’ll still be married to her, and she won’t need to remarry if she doesn’t want to, so yeah, I think it was.”

“At the risk of your own life?”

“Yes.”

Zelda watched him, knowing all the problems that she’d already caused him. And while they would never kill the Goddesses’ Hero, they’d certainly imprison him.

She’d just have to find a way to get him out.

“Take me to my father,” Zelda demanded, rising to her feet. “I believe he and I will need as much time to catch up as we can have.”


	17. Chapter 17

The palace walls were always daunting.

They were cold and imposing, lined with armed troops, stone; they were a threat. She’d never felt it quite as keenly as she did when she was led into the castle, guards surrounding her and Link. His own father leading him by the arm, hands tied behind his back. Zelda had a feeling that Link could escape if he wanted to. The restraints looked flimsy around his wrists. Zelda had a feeling that if she were _anyone_ else, she’d be in restraints as well.

But he wasn’t escaping. They knew they needed to face her father at some point, and neither of them had intended to hide it.

Fina and the priestess followed behind them, not restrained—they hadn’t fought. It made Zelda cringe. She wanted to get to her room. She just needed space from it all. It was too much like they were all prisoners. And in many ways, she knew she was.

Her father sat on his throne, as he often did. She’d tried it once when she’d only been accompanied by Tydus. He’d kept a dutiful guard on the door to ensure she could sit without repercussions, but the only one she felt was a sore back when she hit the stiff throne a little too hard. It looked far more comfortable than it actually was.

When they entered, he stood up and crossed the room to meet them halfway, which in itself was unusual. But his outraged face had her bracing herself. She was prepared for the sting on her cheek, and took it well, blinking back tears that came with the pain, but no other reason. She wasn’t afraid of him today. She was angry.

Wrenching her arm free from her own guard, and watching Link struggle in the grip of several, Zelda took a step towards her father. “Why are—”

His hand reared back again, presumably because he simply wasn’t ready to hear her voice. But before it could connect with her skin, she held her hand up, a surge of energy escaping from her palm and pushing her father back. “Don’t do that again,” she warned. She hadn’t even meant for it to happen, but she was glad that her powers seemed to have a mind of their own. She’d have to learn to control it herself, but for now, it worked for her.

“How dare you?” he balked, but he didn’t try it a third time. “How dare you use your powers against me? How dare you run off like some doe-eyed teenager? You learned you were to be remarried and you simply couldn’t handle being asked to do your duty again? Are you so spoiled that you thought once Prince Ward died _the night of your wedding_ , you’d be free? It makes me think you had a hand in his death all along. Guard?”

Without warning, Zelda felt her wrists tugged behind her and a rope wrapped around them. Energy shot out reflexively again, but the guard moved to her side, avoiding it before it began.

“That’s better,” the king muttered, his tight face loosening in relief.

It was then that Zelda realized for a fact that she wasn’t afraid of her father anymore, but _he_ was afraid of _her._

He straightened out his coat before moving in front of her. He didn’t even address Link; he knew that the knight was simply following orders, though the trouble was that the orders came from Zelda, not the king. _That_ was the offence.

“Now, your fiancée is waiting in the other room,” he looked up at Fina and the priestess, finally realizing that there were others with them. “And you brought a priestess into this runaway scam as well? It doesn’t matter. It works in our favor. Bring her. We’ll get this ceremony over with and get on with this war. Let’s end this all.”

“Sire,” the priestess said, stepping forward and bowing. “I cannot.”

“You can. I am commanding you to do so.”

“N-no, Your Majesty. You misunderstand me. I-I cannot because…” she glanced at Zelda for help.

“Because I am already married,” Zelda finished, more confident than she felt.

Rhoam scoffed. “I am aware that your mourning days are not done, but this is an emergency, and the people will understand. You were married for a few hours. A record, really. Now get to your feet. Let’s go.”

“No. That’s not what I’m referring to. I didn’t run off to hide from you. In fact, if you didn’t send a search party after me, I’d have been back home today. I left so I could marry someone else. Now, I cannot be your pawn. The Goddess has already given us her blessing, and it was done in the sight of witnesses; among them was this priestess and the Goddess herself.”

Rhoam froze, as if his very innerworkings had broken and he could no longer function as a human. Slowly, he blinked and returned to himself. “You wretch. I don’t care if you married the Goddess herself, we can make it disappear. The people who know are in this room. Now, it will not leave this room.” He turned to the Priestess, “I don’t care about your vows or your beliefs, you _will_ perform this marriage.”

“No!” Zelda said again, more firmly. “As I said, it was in the sight of witnesses. It was a public ceremony. Enough people know that if you were to do this, word would spread. It would look poorly on you just as much as it would me.”

“Fine then,” Rhoam said, smiling to himself. “Who is this man? Let me meet him.”

Zelda shot back her own triumphant smile. “You cannot kill him, Father. Not without dooming the world that you claim you are trying to save. You shouldn’t have had me studying all those years. Maybe I wouldn’t have been able to think ahead so far.”

That had Rhoam’s face dropping. “Who?” he whispered, but his eyes drifted to Link, already knowing the answer. There was only one man in the entire world that he couldn’t kill without devastating retribution. “No.”

Link finally lifted his eyes up, defiant and burning. There was no hiding his disdain for the King now. And he looked once more like the Link Zelda had met when he’d tortured information out of an assassin. Dark, like his eyes could turn red at any moment.

“Take him to the dungeon! Ensure that he’s taken care of, but that there is no chance of his escape! And Zelda…. Take my daughter to her room and keep her there until I think of what to do with her!”

There was no rage in his face, Zelda noticed. There was no room. There was only panic.

Syrill led his son away, but Link’s head and eyes were on Zelda where she kneeled, held still by several pairs of hands. 

“Not now,” Syrill whispered. “I’ll get you out of there. Just not now.”

“Yes now,” Link hissed, giving his arm a jerk. “She’s the Princess, the Goddesses’ Chosen, my charge, and now my wife. I’m getting her to safety. Just let me go so I don’t hurt you.”

“I can’t, Link. I have four of you to protect from here. If I let you go, your sister will be apprehended, and your brother and mother will be hunted. I respect the Princess, and perhaps in time, I may love her as a daughter thanks to this arrangement, but I need to take care of the family I have. I cannot let you go.”

Link groaned and threw himself down onto his father’s arm, breaking the grip easily. “Zelda!” he called. “Remember where you put my heart?”

She made a face, her attention going first to his chest, and then to her own. _What?_

When he saw her confusion, he pushed another guard off him. “You already have my soul!”

Blinking again, Zelda wracked her brain.

_Untying the bag, she tipped it and felt a small broach in the shape of a shield drop into her hand. It was a Hylian shield, complete with her family’s symbol engraved into it. She flipped it and examined a few Old Hylian symbols etched into the back. She gasped and looked back up at Link._

_He shuffled around. “I would never usually give this to you knowing you’re getting married, but I figured since you’re leaving Hyrule, it was all I had to give. I had it made for you after you gave me my knife.”_

_She let her thumb run over the words. “’My Soul.’”_

It began to click, and she contorted herself so her bound hands could reach into her boot.

_He made a face and peeled the rest of the parchment and string to reveal a small knife made of expensive steel. The handle was wrapped in leather that felt so comfortable in his grip, it was like he’d gone to the blacksmith himself to request it. There were etched designs in the side, but he noticed the engraved words on the blade itself. Like she said, Old Hylian symbols, small, but clear._

_“Wow,” he muttered, holding the fine, expensive knife closer to read the inscription. “’My heart?’” he asked, looking up at her._

_“You don’t need to overthink it. You can pretend it means that you get to stab people in the heart with it, or something. It’s… it’s strange. I get it.”_

_That had Link laughing as he looked it over. “No, I love it. Thank you.”_

Her fingers barely brushed the hilt, inching it forward as she watched guards swarm Link, trying to stop him as he continually broke free of their grasps.

_“Are you giving me a knife to use on your brother?” Zelda laughed, taking it. She didn’t believe that to be true, but a second though had her hesitating. Lorcan would be angry, but she still trusted him. “Or is this knife for my father?”_

_Link made a face and secured the last of his things. “Your call.”_

Zelda got a tight grip on it and twisted her wrists painfully to achieve the angle she needed, cutting through the ropes as quickly as she could. When one wrist broke free, she didn’t bother with the rest, nor did she take the time to stand. She just sent a concentrated beam of the power at the floor by the guards: a warning shot.

Several jumped away, leaving Link free to make his way towards her. He knelt in front of her, and she cut his own bindings. He helped her up, on hand protectively assuring himself of her position while the other took the knife from her. He was angled towards the guards.

Zelda glanced at the doorway, seeing Lady Catherine. She wondered how long she’d been there, hiding in the shadows as she observed. But despite the excitement, Catherine wasn’t looking at them. She was looking behind.

Turning, Zelda followed Catherine’s gaze and gasped, blindly pawing at Link’s back to get his attention.

He turned, and every knight converged on him and Zelda, but not to capture them.

To protect them.

Weapons raised, the guards all moved Zelda into the center of the circle, and Syrill handed his son the Master Sword. Link tucked the knife into his pocket and tightened his grip.

“Well,” the muffled deeply familiar voice muttered. “About time you noticed me.”

One of the assassins was standing proudly behind the King, holding his neck so carefully that it was clear one proper twitch would be regicide.

Lorne.

“You again?” Link asked, but Zelda froze.

_A man standing over Myles, clad in the tight assassin’s garb she’d become too familiar with. A muscular man, he wore a mask that obscured his face. But more than that, he was holding a knife, dripping droplets of blood down onto the wide-eyed, empty expression of Prince Ward as he stared up at the ceiling._

_Zelda shrieked and headed for the door but was immediately cut off by the assassin. Her only other escape was a deadly drop out the window. So she found herself backing into the corner of the room, feeling entirely exposed in her nightgown, like they could see every single vulnerable piece of skin to dig the knife into and end her, as they’d been trying to for some time._

_The man held his finger up, as if to caution her to remain quiet. She couldn’t scream again if she wanted to. Her body had shut down the instant she’d been cornered. As she pressed further into the wall, the man closed the gap between them, his knife went to Zelda’s throat, just light pressure, a threat against movement. Myles' blood dripped off the knife and down her neck, staining her nightgown as the assassin's body, which had been covered in the spatter of Myles' blood, transferred a large stain onto her. And then he ran the back of his hand along Zelda’s cheek, too tender and affectionate, she felt her entire body start to shake._

The memory hit her hard, like she’d been punched in the gut with it. And it spurred the rage her father had already evoked. “What do you want?” she demanded, moving beside Link, her hand raised, poised to shoot the power at him. “Let my father go! That’s the King of Hyrule.”

“I know,” Lorne said easily, smoothly. The memory of his voice sent shivers down her spine. “Don’t pretend you don’t want this, Zelda.”

The way he said her name. So familiar, like he’d been haunting her every step, so much so that they were on familiar terms. Her hand itched to reach out for Link, to hold something comforting. If Lorcan were there, she wouldn’t have been able to help herself from that same reaction.

With a swift kick, Lorne sent the king collapsing to his knees with a pained and terrified groan.

“Let me go,” he hissed, “And I will reward you handsomely for it. You’ll want for nothing.”

Lorne laughed. “That’s not what I want.”

His head cocked to the side, almost questioning. His masked face was angled at Zelda, and though she couldn’t read his expression, she could read his body. Tense. Waiting.

Her eyes went to where his would be, and her mouth opened to say something as she raised her hand to strike, the only one who could from this distance.

But Lorne moved first.

In the echo of the great throne room, there was a loud crack. Lorne’s arms moved to the side and then he released the King, who’s body fell limply to the floor.

Zelda’s burst of magic hit the wall far behind Lorne, her mouth open, not to speak this time, but in horror. Her eyes were locked on her father’s, his own staring up at her, boring into her even without any life left in them.

“Oops,” Lorne chuckled. Taking a few steps back before bowing his head. “Queen Zelda, then.” _  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I no longer know what chapter this is ending on. It might be 18, it might be 19, (who knows, it might be 20! but no it probably won't) so I took the chapter ending thingy away. 
> 
> But anyway........ bye King Rhoam. It was (not) nice knowing you!


End file.
